The Haruno Sakura Chronicles I
by Prosse
Summary: She swore she was going to become one of the greatest hero the world would ever see, and throughout that journey comes friends and foes alike. So watch out, whether you're an evildoer or a competitor in the race to becoming the next number one hero, because Haruno Sakura has now entered the show. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or My Hero Academia BEING REWRITTEN
1. Series I: One

A certain pinkette waited behind a line of people, a luggage behind her. She had landed in Musutafu, Japan just now and was now going to head over to the address Tsunade had told her to go to. Once she got down on to the ground, she waited for the taxi she had called in advance.

When it finally came, she got in, putting her bag into the back. After directing the man on where to go, she leaned back into her seat and looked out the window. It was nothing like Konoha here. Instead of county-styled houses, there was high building with busy streets and shouting people.

After ten more minutes, the car came to halt, signaling that they had arrived. Sakura got out and handed the amount of money for the ride, and just as she was about to leave, the driver stopped her.

" I've seen many teens who come here to become a great Hero. Tell me, are you one of them?" The driver asked.

" Uh huh. Hope you don't mind." Sakura politely returned, not knowing if the driver was saying out of spite or was just being friendly.

The man let out a sudden chuckle. " Not at all. Just wanted you to know we citizens count on the next generation of heroes. Make us proud, okay?"

Sakura nodded in reply, a large smile on her face as she turned around and went into the house that was given to her. When she got in, she placed her luggage in her room, noting to unpack later.

Deciding to take a look around her new home city, Sakura walked out of her house and locked the doors before making her way over to a cafe she had spotted during the car ride. She ordered her drink and waited for it to be delivered to her. Once it came, she said her thanks and left.

With a cup of latte in her hand and tinted sunglasses covering her eyes, Sakura strolled through the streets of Musatufa, Japan noticing nothing in specific. At least for a couple minutes she didn't, however when she spotted a large crowd forming, she just had to find out what all the commotion was about.

She carefully made her way to the front so she could check out what was going on. The pinkette had already seen the smokes and fire, including the Pros who were rushing into the scene but Sakura didn't expect a Villain holding a boy hostage.

" Who's the boy?" Sakura asked a trembling school boy who's eyes looked horrified at what was happening.

The boy turned to the girl, and with a shaking voice he answered her question. " That's Kacchan, a friend- I mean a student from my school."

" He's pretty strong-will to not be completely devour by now." Sakura commented in a impressed tone as she took a couple of sips of her drink with the straw. " How'd he get into this mess to begin with?"

This time, the messy haired boy didn't answer. To the pinkette's surprise, the boy frantically ran into the site. Sakura reached to stop him, but all she managed to grab was thin air. Gasp and murmuring shot out from the crowd around Sakura who seemed too shock to make another move.

Finally she groaned out loud, letting the shock out while doing so. " What kind of idiot just run into a place where Pros even have trouble handling?!"

Without another word, the girl sprinted out to the strange boy who was now clawing at the Sludge Villain, but not before throwing her drink aside. She glared at the boy and then tried to help out as well, but instead of clawing she decided to literally pull the trapped boy right out.

To the green eyed boy's surprise, Sakura gripped his schoolmate's leg and started to pull. And little by little the caged boy was getting pulled out. But suddenly, the Villain had a surge of power and it tried to pull in the pinkette as well. With no choice, Sakura yanked her arm back.

" This thing is getting on my nerves!" Sakura growled under her breathe. She turned over to the green haired boy and called over the chaos." Hey you, can you help-"

Before Sakura could finish her sentence, a blur of yellow rushed passed her with a great force of power that she had to cover her eyes so the ripple of air wouldn't sting her eyes. All Might stood before her, shielding her and the tearful boy from anymore harm.

" I really am pathetic." All Might smiled, his fist being held back by the Villain. " I had warned you, but I wasn't putting what I had said to practice."

The Hero was directly speaking to the messy haired boy, saying something that Sakura didn't fully understand. However, caught in the moment, All Might was able to jerk his hand free. He pulled his tightly clenched fist back and got ready to deliver a blow. The Sludge Villain tried to stop the Pro, but All Might's hand fly straight through the Villain's Quirk of a body.

" Detroit Smash!" All Might called out, landing his punch right in the middle of the Sludge.

In an instant, the Villain was blown away by the force, and was scattered around the area. Sakura dug her heels into the ground, creating a crater that stopped her from being thrown back. Noticing that the boy next to her was about to be blown away, the pinkette grabbed a hold of his wrist.

" I've got you!" Sakura reassure over the wind. After a while everything begun to settle down once more. However, the weather had changed, meaning it was staring to rain over the city, causing many citizen to stare in awe at All Might and his performance.

All Might raised his fist, signaling victory and everyone started to clap in amazement. Sakura turned over to the green haired boy and let go of his hand. " What's your name?"

" I-Izuku Midoriya." He nervously replied, offering his hand to shake.

Sakura let out an air of disbelief, however a small smile adorn her face. " Well Ikuzu, hate to break it to you but you're an idiot." The pinkette took his hand and shook it three time, introducing herself while doing so. " Sakura Haruno."

" You two, wait right there!" Death Arms, a Pro who was helping out with the Sludge Villain commanded, walking over to them. " How rash could you be?!"

The two flinched under the glares of the Pros, Sakura laughing nervously while Midoriya looked down to his feet as if it was the most interesting thing around. Reluctantly Sakura and Midoriya sat down onto the damaged ground, allowing the Heroes to lecture them for a while.

" Wow, you're pretty strong." Slugger's voice came from the left, complimenting the blonde boy who was trapped. " Join my agency when you're a Pro."

The irritated boy noticed Sakura staring at him and snarled her way. To his surprise she grinned at him before turning away, her waist length hair falling to her side so it covered her face. His expression deepened into a scowl, and it stayed that way for a couple of minutes.

" She was making fun of me, wasn't she?!" The blonde gritted out to himself when the Pros had finally left him alone.

" Geez, don't you know anything about a friendly gesture?" Sakura's voice came from behind him. " For your information I was only trying to be nice."

" Whatever."

Sakura leaned toward him, her hands balancing her so she didn't fall. " What's you name, Oh Powerful Kid?"

The boy glared at her smiling face, but he hesitantly answer her question. But not before insulting her and her actions, as per usual like he always did with everyone. " Who wants to know? It's Katsuki Bakugou you impulsive pink hair Bubblegum."

" B-bubblegum?" Sakura's eye twitch at the name. " You're not very nice are you, Firecracker?"

" Cherry Blossom Of The Spring?" A loud voice called out to Sakura. The pinkette turned around to see All Might, just the person she was hoping to see in the city. Waving her hand goodbye to Bakugou, Sakura ran over to the Pro.

" All Might!" Sakura smiled. " Tsunade said- maybe we should go somewhere else?"

The girl had noticed how the Pro looked worn out more than usual. Smoke even came off his body, worrying the Pinkette about the condition the Symbol of Peace was in. All Might nodded and led the way to a small cafe down the block. Before entering the shop, All Might hid in an alley way and changed back to his bone of a body.

" What brings you here, Young Haruno?" All Might asked when they had sat down in the cafe after ordering.

Smiling, Sakura looked out the window before looking back at the Hero. " I'm living here now. I graduated Konoha Middle School Academy just last week and i'm now trying to get into U.A. Tsunade was the one who recommended the school for me."

" Does that mean you'll take the exam or are you a recommended student?" Sakura shook her head and answer that she was going to take the exam. All Might soon fired another question. " How's Lady Tsunade doing?"

" Fine, she even gave me a message to give you." The pinkette cleared her throat. " _Watch over my student for me._ "

All Might observed the young girl in front of him, and couldn't help but smile. The last time he had seen her, she was only doing small work such as helping Tsunade collect data and personal runs, all the while trying to get the woman to agree on taking her on as an apprentice.

" You've come far." All Might commented, and smiled when pride shone in Sakura's eyes. " I was only there for when you had finally got Tsunade to agree. How did your training go?"

At the question, Sakura wince. The first day was hell, the second, third, and fourth was torture. And on it went, the details of all the training and painful attacks the pinkette had to endure for the last couple of years before she finally got the hang of it. All Might could only nod along in sympathy.

" I'm glad to hear you've finally found a purpose for your Quirk." The Pro said. " It was called Chakra, right?"

Sakura nodded, and memories flooded over her on about her younger days. As a child, everyone thought she was Quirkless even though her doctor had told her multiple times she wasn't. Her Quirk was later known as Chakra, an ability that meant that, from within her body, Quirk Energy was swirling inside of her.

It took awhile for Sakura to become fond of her Quirk, she had even become to think she truly was Quirkless when her ability wasn't given a specific power. But then Tsunade came along with her own theory. She taught Sakura to channel her power so it would become of use. Three years later, Sakura had the ability to heal and to have the power of inhuman strength.

Because she had focus her Quirk on those two aspect, her Quirk had only developed into Healing and super strength. The Quirk Energy had taken it's complete form, meaning that Chakra was a Quirk that allowed the owner to choose their own type of ability.

" Come on, we're going to find my successor." All Might suddenly got up and headed to the exit door.

Finishing her drink, Sakura followed after. The pinkette soon fell into steps with the Pro, however, when they had turned a corner where there was no passerby, All Might puffed into his buff form. His steps were longer, causing Sakura to have to run after him a bit.

" Who's the lucky person?" Sakura asked when All Might slowed down for her. " Is it that boy who was held captive? The presented Pros were all complimenting him, I suppose you did too. Am I right?"

" Nope. Sometimes it's more than the Quirk." All Might had a look of experience on his face, and his lips were turned upward and into a smile. " The other boy, Young Midoriya. He's Quirkless, but he ran into the scene like a real Pro."

" He screamed and then threw his backpack." Sakura commented, readjusting the sunglasses back on. She had taken them off while helping Midoriya out. " He was also shaking and crying. But the weirdest thing he did was put on a smile. It was wobbly, but it was still a smile. I think I'm going to enjoy his character."

All Might bellowed out a laugh, his pace picking up. " I knew you were going to like him. He's got potential!"

" Hey. Hey! Wait up!" Sakura ran after the Pro, and to quicken her speed she directed her Quirk to her legs, giving them a rush of powerful strength.

They ran onto a neighboring street, and after awhile All Might suddenly stopped. Sakura, right behind him, found herself not being able to stop smoothly in time so she skidded a bit before crashing into the Pro's back.

" A-All Might!? Haruno!?" Midoriya stuttered out, his eyes wide in disbelief. " You know each other?"

Sakura rubbed her nose, smoothing down the pain of colliding into All Might's back. " It's Sakura. And to answer your question, All Might is a friend of my mentor, Lady Tsunade."

" T-the Lady Tsunade!? She's once of the strongest Pro of her time, she was also a part of The Legendary Sannin! She's known for her advance healing skills, she once was the only medic during a major Villain attack in Konoha! She played both offense and defense during that Attack!" Midoriya ranted on, his voice high and full of admiration. Once he had calmed down, he turned over to All Might. " How'd you get away from the reporters? You were surrounded by them last I check."

" Getting away from them was easy. Why? Because I am All-" The Pro stopped in mid-sentence, and sudden puffs of clouds appeared. When the cloud cleared, All Might was standing in the middle, blood dripping from his mouth.

Sakura let out a sigh as she walked over to Midoriya's side. " He does this a lot, doesn't he?"

Before Midoriya could answer, All Might started to speak again, but this time his voice was serious. " I come with thanks, a correction, and a suggestion. If you hadn't been there, I would've become a guy in a bodysuit that was only words. Thank you."

" It was my fault to begin with. I was the one who got in the way of your work." Midoriya then looked down in the ground as if he was ashamed. " I even said all those rude thing even though I'm only a Quirkless kid."

Sakura let out a sigh, a small smile on her face. " I don't know exactly what had happen before I got there. But I know All Might and his limits. And I think that it was because of someone like you who ran into the scene was what caused All Might to recover his form once again."

" Young Haruno is correct." All Might agreed. " Top Heroes always have a story about their school days. Something they all have in common is that at one point: Their body moved on their own before they had the chance to think."

Next to Sakura, Midoriya's eyes widened and they became glassy. Seconds later, he was clenching his heart and tears were streaming down his face. Sakura looked at the boy, and nodded to All Might for his decision.

" O-kay, I think that's enough crying." Sakura sheepishly said. " Trust me, you'll be doing that a lot more during your training."

Midoriya looked up at the pinkette curiously. " W-what do you mean?"

The boy then turned over to All Might who stared back down on him. The Pro held out his arms, as if to show greatness. " You're worthy of receiving my powers."

" What? Inherit your power?"

All Might then started to explain what he meant. The Pro told the boy about how he would always avoid answering any question about his Quirk. Midoriya only seemed more confused, and when he looked up to Sakura, she only crossed her arms and nodded along as if it was nothing.

" He just means that he wants you to have his Quirk." Sakura said. " You see, the Quirk that he has now, it was passed down to him just like how he now wants to give it to you."

Midoriya's eyes started to spin, and he once again started to rant on about his confusion. " How can a Quirk be passed down? I just don't understand what you mean about giving me your Quirk. I've never heard about it before."

" Well now you have." All Might said, holding out his hand to which it begun to glow. " The Quirk I was Crowned with: One For All."

From there, All Might went deeper on what he meant. Explaining about how One For All was cultivated by many owners before it was passed down to him. When the Pro finished his explanation, Midoriya looked surprised.

" Why are you...Why are you giving me something so great?"

" I've been looking for a successor. And I thought it would be alright if it was given to you." All Might announced. " You were only a Quirkless fanboy, but you still ran into the scene. You showed heroism that would make you a great Pro Hero. What do you think, would you like it?"

Sakura watched as Midoriya wiped his tears away before he stood up. " I'll do it."

" I'm glad you've agreed." Sakura smiled. " Since you'll be trying out for the entrance exam, I guess we'll be training together from time to time with All Might."

" How'd you know I was going to try out for U.A.?" Midoriya asked to which the girl only pointed to the notebook in his hand titled: Hero Analysis For the future.

Sakura grinned when he gave a look of shock. " I had figure by the Future you mean when you attend a Hero School.

" If you don't mind me asking, what's you Quirk?" Midoriya question, curious about the pinkette who had ran in with him to save Bakugou.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders as she walked away, leaving the question unanswered. Giving a wave, she disappeared around a corner, leaving All Might and his student alone. The Pinkette then made her way to her house that Tsunade had given for her.

If Midoriya was going to inherit One For All, she was going to have to work hard to become one of the greatest hero of her generation. Not to mention the students that may go to school with her at U.A. Only the best of the best attend the school, meaning she was going to have competition.

" I won't stand behind anyone's shadow anymore."


	2. Series I: Two

Sakura groaned out loud and covered her ears with her pillows. Despite her actions, the banging on the front door did not decrease. In fact, it seemed to double in noise and multiply in how many knocks there was in five seconds. Sakura gritted her teeth, pressing her pillow harder on her ears to try to block out the noise.

" Young Haruno!" A voice boomed from outside. " Hurry, we need all the time we can get!"

Stomping over to get the door, Sakura slammed it open. " What?! What do you want!? What's going on this early in the morning?! Its only been two days since I last saw you!"

The pinkette noticed Midoriya who seemed only half awake, his head nodding off to sleep at least two times in a row in between only a minute. All Might on the other hand was standing tall and proud in his muscle from. But it didn't take long before the pro was spitting blood out and was turned back to his original form.

" It's time to start your training for U.A.'s entrance exam." All Might reminded, wiping his blood away from his mouth.

The pinkette's eye twitch as she held out a hand in front of her. " Give me five minutes. If I don't come out by then, just leave without me."

Not waiting for a reply, Sakura washed up, which took ten minutes. However, no one came in, but All Might's voice could still be heard from the other side. Sighing, Sakura went out to check on them, her face still in an unhappy expression. But her eyes were now alive and focus, and her movements now had a purpose.

" Why don't you come in, it might take awhile." The girl invited, crossing her arms as her eyes focused on anything but All Might and Midoriya. Midoriya gladly went in after awhile of frantically denying, but was happy to escape from the cold.

Sakura motioned for them to sit on one of the couches she had moved in during the two days of unpacking and buying new furnitures with the money Tsunade had supply her with. Once the pinkette served her guest some tea, she went into her room to change for the day.

Quickly, she slipped into a sweater and black shorts. As she walked out to the living room, Sakura fixed her hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. Once All Might and Midoriya finished their tea, Sakura gestured for them to go out.

" Well, I'm done so lets go." Sakura gave a pointed smile at the only hero presented. " You did say we need all the time we could get."

The three of them exited the house and made their way to a place that All Might claimed was a perfect place for them to go. Sakura raised an eyebrow when she took in the sight that greeted her when they had came to a stop in their walk.

" The beach?" Sakura frowned when she saw all the items on the shore. " You're not going to make us...?"

The pinkette trailed off, not needing to finish when she saw the smile on All Might's face. As if it might help, All Might changed into his muscle form, giving the two teens with him a thumbs up. Midoriya looked bewildered, surprised at the fact that he was suppose to remove the rubbish on the beach with his Quirkless body.

" A-All Might, how am I going to move these?" Midoriya asked, trying to pick up an old tossed out tire near him. " I thought you were giving me your Quirk."

All Might grinned brightly, as if glad that the boy asked. " Your body isn't in shape just yet. An unprepared body won't inherit my Quirk fully and it may result in the explosions of your limbs. I'm sure that won't be very pleasant."

" If this exercise is for Midoriya, what am I suppose to do, watch him struggle and laugh?" Sakura sarcastically commented, hands on hip.

A bellowed laugh came out of the Pro as if the statement was amusing. " Of course not, today you're going for a swim."

After a long rant of complaints, Sakura slowed down enough for All Might to explain. His explanation was logically, the reason she was going for a swim was to exercise in the water. Since she was in liquid her movements were going to slow down, and added force would exhaust her. This kind of training was meant for her attacks to get faster, sharper, and more precise.

" You should've told me to bring extra clothing." Sakura muttered under her breathe.

Without another word, Sakura walked over to the ocean and took off her sandal. A shiver went through her as she came in contact with the cold water, with trembling hands, she took off her sweater so she was now only in her t-shirt and shorts.

" This is freezing." Sakura mumbled to herself, hands wrapped around her body. The pinkette looked up and noticed that the sun was beginning to rise higher up into the sky.

To attack the water was almost impossible unless your posture was bent over. So instead, Sakura trudged out into the deeper range of the ocean. Slowly, her feet lightly took off of the ground until she was floating with her head barely above the water. Sakura took a deep breathe and the next thing she did was went under the water, completely.

This was dangerous, even this exact thought went through All Might's mind when he had assign this training to Sakura. What if the water's pressure was too much for the pinkette to the point she couldn't get back up to the surface in time? What if Sakura severely injured her body by using her Quirk in such an easily disturbed area?

Sakura carefully opened her eyes and took in the view of miles of water surrounding her. She shook her head, as if to clear her mind so she could focus on what she was suppose to do. Slowed down by the pressure of the water, the pinkette got into her fighting stance.

She pulled her fist back, and her eyes glowed an eerie green when she activated her Inhuman Strength Quirk. Clenching her fist, Sakura pushed it forward with extra strength to speed it up that would have not been needed on land, causing the water around her to swirl around as if the peace had been disturb by a coming storm. Sakura shield her eyes, and squinted against the water that had started to sting her eyes.

The ocean started to whirl and clash against it self, not having a determined flow to go with. All The pinkette could do was try to protect her body by stiffening her muscles so it wouldn't snap by the force around her.

Slowly, everything started to settled down as if nothing had happened. The pinkette down down to her hands, unclenching and clenching over and over again. That underwater storm shouldn't have been out of her control. She couldn't control her power enough, so instead that one punch had travel through the ocean, creating something that she couldn't handle properly.

Noticing her lack of oxygen, Sakura swam back up to the surface, struggling a bit with the ocean pressing against her. Once out, the pinkette greedily took in gulps of air that she started to cough and hack out the sea salt that made it to her tongue. Looking over to the shore, Sakura saw All Might waving to her for her to come over. Quickly, she swam back using her Quirk.

" What was that?" Midoriya asked while Sakura squeezed the water out of her pink locks. " A section of the ocean started to act up weirdly."

" That, was the definition of my Quirk." Sakura smiled, moving over to him to help move a rusting tire. " A natural disaster." As if to prove her point, the girl shoved the tire forward, causing it to fly back and land roughly onto the sand, also creating a fun size crater.

Midoriya stared in surprise at the cracks. " Is your Quirk similar to All Might's? Super strength, correct?"

" I suppose you could call it that. Lets just say it's more complicated than you think it is." Sakura replied, giving a knowingly look toward All Might who seemed to be waiting for quiet until he started to talk.

The Pro cleared his throat, and walked over to the two teens with him. All Might pulled out a couple sheets of paper, handing some to Sakura and the rest to Midoriya." You'll both be following a schedule for the next ten month for the U.A. entrance exam. You may even follow it for the rest of your life."

" You even planned our sleep?" Sakura frowned slightly, unhappy with the change of plans. She could back out with training with All Might right now, but she needed the extra work without Tsunade with her at the moment.

" Lets go with the flow, what do you say, Cherry Blossom Of The Spring?" All Might beamed, winking at the girl's twitching eye.

* * *

The next couple of months before the entrance exam was those that reminded Sakura of her first year of training with Tsunade. While Midoriya worked with trying to clear the beach, Sakura spent most of her time in the ocean, each day returning home drenched with water. She figured on the third day there was no reason to change if she was just going to run back anyway.

" Hey, where's Midoriya today?" Sakura asked All Might on the seventh day when the boy didn't show up yet again.

" Oh, that's right. Your school year already ended back in Konoha, however, here, school's not out just yet." The Pro explained, demanding the pinkette to do some push ups right after that.

The girl reluctantly got down and started on her three sets of fifty push ups. Only on her second, All Might suggested for them to go for a run to which Sakura would accepted over the push ups anytime. Getting up, the pinkette dusted herself and started to jog off the beach, All Might followed suited on a hover board scooter.

Turning a corner, a sudden item was thrown toward Sakura's head. Surprise, the pinkette fell over to see a pair of thick dumbbells, each with the number fifty on the sides. With a drop in her demeanor, Sakura turn to All Might.

" Do I really have to?" The pinkette whined, lifting up the objects. " Never mind, I'll just use them."

With All Might trailing after her, Sakura jogged onto one of the busiest streets in the city. However, just as she was about to cross a street, someone pushed her to the side, a couple of bags in his hands. Soon after, the wails of citizens were heard.

" That man! Someone stop him, he took my bag!"

" Call the police, or an Agency! My ID card and money were in my bag!

" Someone help! Stop that villain!"

Sakura frantically turned to where the villain had ran off to. She didn't spare All Might any look to wait for a sort of signal, she just took off. Pumping her Quirk into her legs, the pinkette flashed through crowds with amazing speed, all the while her eyes giving off a blazing green glow.

Soon, the villain became closer and closer into her range, and with no hesitation, Sakura threw her dumbbells straight at the man's head. Caught by surprise, the evildoer fell forward, rubbing his head in pain. The bags that were in his hands were all sprawl around him.

The villain cursed under his breathe. " The fuck was that?! Wait! Where are the damn bags?! I'll kill the person who threw these shit at me!"

While the citizens who had their bags stolen search for them, Sakura lifted the villain off of his feet by the collar of his shirt. However, the man reached for her wrist, and Sakura hissed in pain. Despite it though, the pinkette didn't let him go.

Instead, the sizzling burns on her wrist begun to heal. While this happened, Sakura's eyes glowed a soft blue, showing the fact that she was using her Quirk to heal herself. But since the villain's hands were still on her wrist, he kept his Quirk going.

It was like a cycle, no matter how much Sakura healed herself, her wrist would only keep getting burned over and over. Finally, the pinkette let go, throwing the man onto the ground to which he let out a hacking cough.

Quickly, Sakura mended her wrist and reached for the villain. She aimed a direct punch, and it seemed the man was aiming for her face this time. At the last moment, Sakura pivoted and instead slammed her elbow into the villain's jaw, catching everyone watching by surprise. Including the police and a Pro who had just arrived.

" That's my girl!" All Might called out on his scooter, but since he was in his original form, no one paid much attention to him.

Grinning proudly, Sakura gave a thumbs up to the man to which All Might returned. The girl was then approached by a cop who thanked her reluctantly before taking a hold of the villain. It seemed the cop wasn't pleased to be showed up by a teen.

" Leave this to the adult next time, okay Sweetheart?" The cop said, falsely smiling at Sakura.

Sakura didn't say anything and instead walked over to All Might. On the way, she had picked up her dumbbells that were now smeared with slight blood, she noted to wipe it off back home before giving them back to All Might.

" Come one, we're not needed here." Sakura mumbled, but just as she was about to jog off, clapping could be heard around her. The girl looked to her right, and then her left. It had started off with the people who had got their bags back, but now, everyone who saw what happened where clapping for the pinkette.

Sakura found herself guilty of a smug look, however, she managed to run off without demanding for more clapping, especially from the cop. All Might noticed her expression and let out a chuckle.

" You really are Tsunade's student." All Might grinned. " She was more than happy to absorb in all the attention she got on her first couple of missions."

" T-that's not what's happing!" Sakura stuttered out, flushed in embarrassment. " I mean it!"

For the rest of the jog back home, Sakura displayed a wide smile on her face despite her words. Becoming a Hero, that's what she needed to focus on the most. In the meantime, she would have to work hard to get into one of the best Hero school around, U.A.

" You'll do just fine." All Might suddenly said, as if reading her mind. " You _are_ Sakura Haruno, the little girl who would visit Tsunade and demand to learn."

" Thank you."

* * *

Ten Months Later:

Sakura raced to U.A. while Midoriya trailed after her as fast as he could. The pinkette was wheezing and panting in laughter, still not over what had happened earlier that morning. She came to a halt in front of the entrance gate, causing Midoriya to crash into her.

" P-please stop laughing." Midoriya winced, to which the girl tried to stifle it by covering her mouth. Her eyes however, were still dancing.

Sakura swallowed the last of her laughter and placed both hands on Midoriya's shoulders. " I'm sorry. It's just kinda weird to think All Might had to do the same thing to gain it. But I'm sure you'll be a great just like him so don't doubt, okay?"

" I'll try not to." Midoriya said, giving a small smile. However, it soon fell when he spotted someone behind Sakura.

The pinkette gave him a curious look. " What's wrong?" She turned around to see a blonde boy looking at them. A smile adorn Sakura's face when she noticed who it was. " Hey, you're that boy! How's it going, Firecracker?"

" None of your business Bubblegum." Bakugou snapped before sharply turning around to enter the school.

Sakura followed after him, waving bye to Midoriya who seemed frozen in place. " Take your time, but come in soon, okay? I'm going in now, bye!" The pinkette then raced after Bakugou." Wait up Firecracker I'm coming with you!"

" Why are you following me!? Leave me alone Bubblegum!" Bakugou growled out, causing the pinkette to roll her eyes.

Sakura blew a strand of her hair out of her hair before addressing Bakugou again. " Oh come on, my company can't be that bad. If you want, I can yell and insult others just like you so you can feel more comfortable. What'd you say?"

" I say you're crazy." Bakugou commented, however he didn't push her to leave him anymore. " So what are you doing here, trying to become a Hero as well?"

" Yep!" For the rest of the walk until they sat down in one of the seats of the Exam Orientation room, Sakura did most of the talking while Bakugo would let out a grunt of reply or send out a question of his own. Finally, the lights turned on up front and a Pro on the stage begun to start the presentation.u

" Everyone say _Hey_!" Present Mic shouted, trying to get everyone to make a sound, but it collapsed in failure.

Ignoring what had happened, the Voice Hero started to explain what was going to happen. Sakura, hearing someone muttering looked over to the side of Bakugou and spotted Midoriya with his hands in front of him in a sort of fanboying gesture. She let out a soft laughter before turning her attention back up front.

" You listeners will be going a ten-minutes mock battle after this!" Present Mic announced loudly. " After the presentation, you'll head into a specific battle center, okay?!"

Sakura glanced down on her card in front of her. She picked it up and noticed she was going to Battle Center D, curiously she turned to Bakugou who just finished looking at her's. " Which one are you going to?" Bakuguo only showed her his card. " Battle Center A? Boo, I thought it might be nice to end up with you." She looked passed Bakugou and stared at Midoriya's card. " Seriously? Battle Center B? Ugh!"

" Cheer up, you might meet someone new." Midoriya said, trying to encourage her. " You might be able to work together as well."

" That's not what I'm worried about." Sakura mumbled, glancing at Midoriya's hands. She couldn't tell if One For All had started to take action yet, if not, it was going to be bad for Midoriya and All Might.

Up front, Present Mic explained how it was going to work. They were to defeat the three types of battle robots to gain points. Sakura frowned, on her card, there was four, not three. Before she could say anything, a boy beat her to it.

" On the printout, there are four villains, not three. If this is a mistake made by U.A. they should be ashamed." The tall boy said. " We come to U.A. to be molded into exemplary heroes, U.A. should be more careful! In addition, you with the curly hair!" The tall boy suddenly turned over to Midoriya. " You've been muttering this whole time, stop it."

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes once more, but this time at the tall boy. However, it seemed he was right about the printout sheet because Present Mic spent sometime talking about the fourth robot. According to him, the fourth faux was worth Zero points.

A thought ran through Sakura's mind. _Destroying something like that would be a huge signal to everyone I'm here. This is perfect!_

Bakugou noticed her smile and couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. Surely it wasn't about taking number four on directly. Sure she was brave, rushing in to help him out during the sludge attack, but she didn't seem very powerful.

After a couple of more minutes, the presentation was finished so Sakura headed into a changing room to switch into her workout clothe. When she came out wearing a brown tank top and black shorts, she bid Midoriya good luck who seemed to be sweating from just the idea about going in Battle Center B.

" I don't need luck." Bakugou said when Sakura had turned over to him. He raised in eyebrow when Sakura grinned.

" I wasn't going to wish you any to begin with." Sakura said, walking off. " You don't seem the type to need it in the first place."

The pinkette wandered over to the gate of Battle Center D and joined into the crowd of students already there. She didn't try to interact with any of them even though that was her thought to do so when she first sat down in the Exam Orientation room.

No, everything had suddenly turned serious. For some reason, Sakura felt her body going cold as she waited for the signal for them to go in. This was real, this was the real thing. Her first step toward her career of A Pro Hero!


	3. Series I: Three

Hearing a loud noise from up on the gate to Battle Center D, Sakura looked up and shield her eyes from the glaring sun. She made out a figure, and once her eyes got use to the lighting, the pinkette noticed the figure was Midnight, another Pro Hero.

" What are you waiting for!? A signal? Well there isn't one so you better get a move on!" Midnight called out grinning.

In a instance, while most of the other examinee sink in the information, Sakura sprinted through the now opened gates. A couple students followed suited, however, Sakura was the first to take down the first robot villain in Battle Center D. She raised her clenched fist, and strike the robot right in the middle, creating a hole in the chest before it was sent flying into a building when Sakura grabbed the robot's wrist and swung it to the side.

The villain shuddered to a complete stop before falling onto the ground in tiny parts. Sakura was now at Two points. Moving on, the pinkette ran deeper into the arena, and as she did so, she was met by two different robots, one worth one points while the other was worth three.

Smiling at her fortune, the girl charged right into the middle of the two villains. She aimed a high kick, repositioning her feet so that while it was in the air, her feet landed on the side of one of the robot's head. She brought her leg down with a crash, destroying the three point villain's head.

Swiftly, Sakura whirled around so she was now facing the other robot head on. She ducked the moment she turned around though, flinching as she did so. A strike had been aimed for her head, it wasn't strong, but it managed to make the pinkette flinch in surprise.

Now crouching, Sakura came up with an upper cut that sent the robot's head detached from it's body. Quickly, she got rid of the main part before turning a corner when she saw some other students arriving.

Running, Sakura noticed that many examinee were having trouble handling their share of enemies, but she dismayed it. Every men for himself in this entrance exam. But then again, those robot's _were_ worth points. In seconds, Sakura had turned around and ran into battle.

She swiped a kick from behind while the robot was busy with another examinee. The attack went right through the villain in the middle, making it snapped into two. Sakura caught a glimpse of the students's face, it was mixed with both shame and gratitude.

" Hey, don't worry." Sakura found herself saying. " We still have eight more minutes, go look for some more. They're usually deeper into the Arena."

" T-thank you!" The boy called out as he sprinted off.

The pinkette let out a small smile as she continued on to find her own prey. Easily, she took down fifteen more robots. Sakura was now at around thirty points in the first four minutes. Since there was only six minutes left, Sakura decided to do a flashy move that she had work on during her training.

The girl pumped her Quirk into her leg, her eyes once again glowing green from the use of her Inhuman Quirk. Soon, Sakura took off and was now high above the buildings of Battle Center D. In the air as gravity pulled her back in, Sakura lifted her fist up.

Her speed quickened as she neared the ground, and once she was only a couple of feet away from crashing, Sakura smashed her fist into the concrete. She had picked a place where there wasn't many students to feel the direct ripple of the ground, but it should be enough for the earthquake to stretch out through the whole Battle Center.

As if on cue, the ground broke apart, and where Sakura had punched it, the ground near there was damaged and more dented than the others. The battle ground shook, knocking students off their feet, however, Sakura took this time to observe how many robots she had got.

Her attack had broke off buildings when the ground had wavered, and the debris landed on the most villains' crushing them. The once perfectly structured arena was now falling apart inch by inch. The ground had fissures and splits, and the buildings had collapsed.

" H-help!" A voice called out from under some rubbish, starling Sakura.

" Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" Sakura yelped, picking up the pile of rocks that had landed on someone. Once it was all gone and the person was exposed, Sakura examined what kind of injuries the girl may have. " Let me heal this for you!"

When she was given approval, the pinkette hovered her hands over the other girl's legs. Sakura's eyes glowed blue, and after awhile, the broken bones where mended and back in place. The stranger thanked Sakura before running off to find some more villains to gain more points before the time runs out.

Sakura let out a sigh as she searched the Arena as well. She had injured a fellow student, that couldn't have been good. Just as she was about to turn a corner, dust suddenly rose up from the ground and surrounded her. Hearing screaming and yelling, Sakura looked up to the sky. Her eyes widened in horror, because advancing on the examinee was the gigantic villain bot that was worth zero points.

Students rushed pass the pinkette, more than eager to move out of the way. However, Sakura only stared at the bot and let out a wicked smile. Quickly, Sakura ran toward the robot, picking up students on the way and chucking them to the exit gate.

The pinkette sped up her pace and before she knew it, she had jumped into the air so she was now face to face with the villain. She allowed her self to fall down so she was becoming closer to the robot's head. Stretching out her hands in front of her, Sakura reached for the robot's neck.

It was too big for her to wrapped her hands completely around it, however, all she really needed was a good grip. Using her Quirk, Sakura dug her fingers securely into the Robot's neck. Once she was sure it wasn't to loose, she made her Quirk flow through out her whole body. Hanging on only by her fingers, Sakura got into a stance in the air.

Clenching her jaw, Sakura shifted her arms, getting ready to shoulder toss the robot. The pinkette felt the power coursing through her body, and with one swift movement, she positioned the robot so it was under her, crushed by the force and pressure that snapped its body to pieces.

Instantly, thick dust arose from the ground, causing Sakura to cough and try to pant at the same time. She let got of the robot's neck, a wide smile on her face as she pumped her fist in the air in excitement. She had did it.

Everything was silent except Sakura's cheers and whoops, everyone else too stun to say or do anything. Sakura wiped the dust from her hands and walked out the exit gates, a proud smile still on her face that stretched from ear to ear. She had shown them, Sakura Haruno was here. She wasn't someone to over look like when she was younger.

" T-that was amazing!" Someone shouted out, causing many to agree as well.

Sakura, growing embarrassed, hid her face and hurried out. However, that didn't stop the smile from continuing to show on her face. When the pinkette arrived home, she checked her mail and curiously stared at an enveloped that was sent to her.

Still looking at the letter while entering her house, Sakura sat down on the kitchen table and opened it up. Instantly, Sakura recognized the hand writing, it was from Konoha, and the person who wrote this was no other than her mentor, Lady Tsunade.

* * *

A couple days later, Sakura found herself packing once more. The note that she had received from Tsunade was a letter that had request for the pinkette to visit Konoha for one day and one night. The visit was for her to catch up with friends and to chat with Tsunade for a bit about school.

Tsunade already knew that Sakura would have some free days after the Entrance exam so she thought it would be nice for her student to come visit Konoha before actually starting a new life in Masutasu, Japan. Of course Sakura gladly accept the invitation. Around the afternoon, Sakura made her way to the airport along with All Might and Midoriya.

" Thanks for seeing me off." Sakura smiled at the two. However, her smile falter a bit after seeing the look on Midoriya's face. " Oh come on, I'm sure you did just fine. You're not the one who caused debris to crash on to other students. I probably lost half my points. If it was real and that student was a citizen, I could be in big trouble."

The day after the Entrance exam, Midoriya had filled in what had happened for him in Battle Center B. Sadly, according to Midoriya, he had managed to earn zero points. All Sakura could do was try to encouraged the boy with out making it seen obvious.

" Thanks. I hope so as well." Midoriya replied glumly. " But I bombed the practical test and barely passed the written exam."

All Might looked away, however, Sakura saw the smile that the Pro was trying to contain. Sakura let out a tired sigh, but a smile still stayed on her face, knowing full well what All Might's action meant.

" Ah! Young Haruno, it seems it's time to get on your plane." All Might commented after checking a schedule near by.

" Huh? Oh your right." Sakura held on to her bag and made her way out, however, not before turning back one more time. " Bye! See you guys in a couple of days. And Midoriya? Cheer up, I'm sure you did fine."

With that said, Sakura walked up the stairs to her plane and got in. She sat down and stared out the window, seeing Midoriya and All Might still there, she waved good bye. After awhile, the two left to go back home, leaving Sakura to wait for take off.

Ten or so minutes later, the plane was up in the sky and Sakura had fallen asleep from the waiting. The plane ride should only take about four hours, so about the time the pinkette woke up, there was only three hours left to go.

Luckily, Sakura had brought a book, so for the next half hour, she busied herself with a classical reading. Two hours and a half later, the plane landed in Konoha, sparking Sakura's excitement. Peering out the window, the girl spotted a familiar blonde wearing a school uniform near the building's the plane. Sakura made her way out and toward one of her best friends from middle school.

" Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted her, already going for her small bag to hold for her. " How's it going? I'm so glad you came to visit us!"

" Hush down Naruto!" Sakura complained, but despite her words, a wide grin was on her face. " I'm glad I came back as well. So tell me, how have the Konoha Twelve been doing lately? And shouldn't you be in school?"

Naruto led the way to a car, and in the driver's seat was someone Sakura had never seen in person. However, his face mask and silver hair gave him away, The CopyCat Hero: Anbu. The pinkette turned over to Naruto who had begun to place her luggage in the back of the car.

" What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be else where, I mean, he is a Pro Hero." Sakura whispered, having no idea why such a well known hero was here picking her up.

Naruto smiled at the pinkette sadly. " Of course you wouldn't know. He's now working in Konoha High Academy as a teacher. He's known as Kakashi-sensei, and to be honest, he's nothing like what you would expect from someone who became a Pro at the age of thirteen."

" Naruto, you and your friend should probably get in. You're suppose to be back at school in five minutes." Kakashi said, however he didn't seem that worried, instead, the Pro had his nose buried in a little orange book.

" What's he reading?" Sakura asked as she and Naruto got inside the back seats.

Naruto snickered at her question, and his expression turn into one of a sneak. " Icha Icha Paradise. You know, the one written by Ero-Sennin."

" No!" Sakura leaned froward a bit toward the book that Kakashi had set done, and at the same time trying not to make it obvious she was trying to have a peek at it. When it was confirmed, the pinkette slumped back into her seat. " I can't believe it, you're actually right for once."

" Hey! What do you mean about that?" Naruto whined, his lips in a pout. " Yesterday I got a question in class right ya know?"

" Let me guess, after the seventh time, correct?" Sakura teased lightly, forgetting how much she had missed Naruto and Konoha since she had moved away.

Naruto suddenly gave a proud smile. " Nope! Got it right on the third try."

This coming from Naruto was a bit of a surprise, there was a reason the blonde was always dead last in informative classes. However, Sakura's eyes locked onto her feet instead. The last time she saw Naruto was after graduation, and he was still a goof ball who barely knew the basic of math. She had missed so much in the pass ten months.

" So how's school going? U.A. had only finished it's entrance exam a couple days ago. But if I'm correct, Konoha High Academy's school day have started about two months ago." Sakura said.

" School itself is fine. Baa-chan's now the principal of Konoha High Academy instead of Old Man Third." Naruto replied, referring to Tsunade and Hiruzen Sarutobi. " And to be honest about your question earlier, The Konoha Twelve have split up not long before starting school."

" Oh no, what happened." Sakura frowned, The Konoha Twelve was basically what a group of students from Konoha Middle School Academy called themselves, both Naruto and Sakura were part if it.

" Nothing really. We just thought it would have been best to take our training as Hero's more seriously. We're still friends and all that though."

Suddenly, the car came to a halt and Kakashi turned back to them. " Well, we're here at school now. Sakura right? We'll leave your stuff in here for the time being and you can come back and get in after school to take it to Tsunade's place."

Sakura nodded in reply and got out of the car with Naruto. Chatting, they made their way to the main office. Naruto left to go back to his next class of the day, leaving the pinkette to discuss some things with the principal.

" Sakura?" Tsunade's voice came from behind a door. " Come in, come in. And while your at it, mind bringing in that bottle with you as well?"

Sakura laughed when she spotted the bottle of sake. " In your dreams. You're at school, Lady Tsunade, I'm not going to be the reason the principal get's drunk during school hours."

" How you doing kid?" Tsunade smiled when her student came in and sat down in front of her.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders in reply. " I'm not really sure. I'll be getting the letter from U.A. back by the time I return to Musutafu, Japan. In the meantime, I have no clue what I got for my scores yet. And not to mention while taking out some robots, I had injured an examinee in the progress."

" You did just fine." Tsunade held held up her hand to stop Sakura from asking how she knew. " You're my pupil. There's a reason I had recommended that school to you. Although Konoha's Hero school would have been just fine as well, I want you to discover different types of Hero that you won't see here often. It'll get you ready for when you become a Pro. Next time though, try not to hurt anyone other than your targets."

Sakura nodded in understanding, however her face had a look of unsureness. After awhile, Tsunade walked Sakura over to a classroom to introduce her as a temporary student. The pinkette spotted Naruto who was no where near to listening to Tsunade, and her childhood friend, Ino.

" Forehead! Over here, we have so much to catch up on." Ino shouted when Tsunade had left. When the pinkette too a seat next to her, she was shot with the latest gossips around school. "...you have no idea! Can you believe it? That bimbo, Ami, I swear the only reason she's trying to become a hero is for the Fame. And of course, Sasuke's attention."

" You mean like us back in Middle school?" Sakura slyly commented " So tell me, how's Sasuke doing?"

" Charming as always." Ino dreamily sighed. " Why don't you see for yourself? Strangely, him and Naruto are now kinda like best friends. They still have this rival kind off aura, but their not each other's throat every ten second. Thank goodness."

Sakura glanced in the dark teen's way and was met by a pair of black eyes. Out of reflex, she quickly turned away. However, she soon realized that by turning away, it was a mistake on her part. That was exactly what her thirteen year old self would have done.

" Fuck." Sakura muttered. Sighing, she turned back to Sasuke and waved slightly to which the boy only said nothing and let out a Hn.

Ino, realizing that the pinkette wouldn't be here for long had an idea. " Hey, how about we go out sometimes? Just the two of us. Remember that park we use to go to as kids? Meet me there after school."

Before Sakura could answer, the door opened to reveal Kakashi who had his little book in his hands. The pinkette was sure they had gotten out of the car in the same time and that he had no excuse for being late. Suddenly, Kakashi held up a pair of bells for the class to see.

" Everyone, meet outside. We're going to be doing some sparring." Kakashi lazily informed to his students.

One by one, every exited the building and met out in the fields. There, Kakashi explained what exactly they were going to do. All at once, the class was going to fight against him and try to get the bells. As if it was no big deal, Kakashi started the battle right there, still reading his book.

The first to charge was Naruto and Kiba. Naruto's Quirk was Nine Tail Fox, meaning a living beast was living inside of him. So far, Naruto's training had allowed him to create virtual claws, if he kept up the progress, he would be able to take different levels of form of the beast. Naruto's mother made it to taking on the form of three tails out of nine.

Kiba's Quirk was Canine, meaning he basically had the senses of a Canine and some abilities of one as well. Along side him was Akamaru, a dog who was highly trained for combat, and a fighting companion for Kiba.

However, even though the two charged at Kakashi at the same time with Akamaru, in seconds they were sent flying back. The Pro had avoided all of their attacks and had counter them with each others.

" Dope." Sasuke muttered next to Sakura to Naruto who was flat on his back and already covered with bruises. " Let me show you how a real Pro would fight."

The rest of the class watched as the Uchiha fought with their teacher. Sasuke was some sort of prodigy for his age, having the Quirk called Copy Wheel Eye. It was much like Kakashi, however, unlike the Pro, Sasuke was able to use both of his eyes. The Copy Wheel Eye was a Quirk that was passed down to the Uchiha family, some of them had the original while others had more advance and developed ones.

The Quirk had multiply abilities, the most common one was to be able to copy other's movement, including Quirks. It was also said to be able to cast a short time illusion. Over all, who ever had a from of his Quirk was already thought of as the winner of the battle.

Sakura watched as Sasuke and Kakashi fought head on. Despite having both of his eyes to use, Sasuke was having trouble even touching Kakashi. Kakashi, although not a Uchiha had their treasured Quirk. No one knew why but a few.

The pinkette noticed how everyone else was watching from the sideline, and frowned. They were all thinking about going one at a time. Frowning, Sakura nudged Ino with her shoulder.

" Why isn't anyone else going in as well?" The pinkette asked.

Ino looked at her as if there was an obvious reason. " Come on Forehead. This is Anbu we're talking about. If even one of us get a good hit in, it's something huge to brag about. I mean think about it, this is a school with talented students, if one took down an advance Pro such as Anbu that's a win. If we work together, us winning would be no surprise."

Before Sakura could reply, Shikamaru crashed into her, his body wincing in pain. The girl helped him up and motioned for him to sit down. Shikamaru, knowing why, did as he was told. Sakura stood behind the boy and placed her hand on his back, her eyes glowing blue.

" There, that should do it." Sakura said after a minute. She turned over to Ino who had taken a step toward Kakashi. " Are you going in next?"

" Yep, I think i'm going to try my luck." Ino replied smiling.

The blonde held out her hands in front of her and made an O. Ino's Quirk was called Mind Transfer, allowing her to transfer her mind into another's, hence the name. However, she only had one shot, but if she kept up training, her chances may increase and her abilities may expand.

Ino's body fell to the ground, and it seemed she had got Kakashi. But at the last moment, the Pro side step, and Ino's mind was transferred into Shino's. Ino as Shino groaned and released her Quirk. By the time Ino was back, Shino fell to the ground while Ino panted breathless.

While all this happened, Choji had become a giant. Just as the boy was bout to step on Kakashi, the Pro snapped his book shut. His action got everyone's attention for he rarely closed his book.

" Class dismiss." Kakashi commented, and in a quieter voice added. " You guys should've come all at once and worked together."

As Sakura followed Ino to their next class, the pinkette mentally scolded herself. She should've got in the battle as well instead of just standing still and noting on how everyone else had grown. For the rest of the school hours, Sakura found herself sulking.

* * *

Everyone else had already gone back home except Sakura and the staffs. The pinkette had to wait for Tsunade to finish up with paper work so they could head on back together. Once Tsunade had finished, Sakura had already grabbed her bag from Kakashi's car.

" Sorry if that took long, I know you were suppose to meet up with Ino later." Tsunade said when they had arrived at the house. " Just place your bag inside the house and meet up with her."

Sakura nodded and followed Tsunade in. Quickly, she placed her bag inside the room she was staying at and headed out, saying good bye to Tsunade on the way. Running to the park, the pinkette texted Ino, asking where she was.

 _Ino: The fountain in the forest_

Seeing the text, Sakura made her way over to the fountain. If she was correct, it should be on the east wing and near the oldest tree in the park. As the fountain came into view, Sakura made out the figure of more than just one person.

" Naruto? Sasuke? Ino, what's going on?" The pinkette asked, noticing the white balloons and party streamers.

" Surprise Forehead!" Ino shouted. " Did you really think we were just going to let you go without a proper farewell Party? I rallied up the Konoha Twelve just for you, and of course Naruto helped out. In fact, I think he was even more excited about this than you were when you saw us here."

Sakura looked around, and a smile grew on her face. True to her words, Ino really did gather everyone there, even Lee, Neji, and Tenten who were a year older than the rest. The pinkette couldn't help it, she shed a few tears right there.

" Sakura-chan, are your crying?" Naruto asked concern as to why the pinkette was wiping tears away. " If you like, we can kick Bushy Brows and Teme out. And if that doesn't make you feel better, Kiba and Neji will follow as well."

" Shut up! These aren't tears." Sakura laughed, despite still wiping her tears away. " I'm actually really happy right now."

Suddenly, Tsuande's voice came from behind a couple of trees. Minutes later, she came out with her phone in her hand. " Sorry I'm late. I had to make sure Kakashi and Might Guy had the food with them. And Sakura? There's a call for you." Cautiously Sakura reached for the phone.

" Young Haruno, congratulation for the acceptance to U.A. I thought you might've wanted to know the results as soon as possible so I've called Lady Tsunade to inform you. When you get back, there will be a letter in your mail with the complete detail. But for now, I have only one thing to say to you. You have the potentials. You can rise high, and U.A. is more than happy to have a student such as you." All Might said on the other line. " Until we meet again in U.A. good-bye."

" Who was that? What did they say?" Kiba asked eagerly.

Sakura was quiet, and beeps came from the phone to signal out that the call had ended. Curiosity ate at everyone and they crowed around the pinkette. They leaned in closer, each having questions of their own. Finally, Sakura let out a wide smile.

" I'm going to U.A."


	4. Series I: Four

The next afternoon, Sakura made her way to catch the airplane heading to Musutafu, Japan. Naruto, and Kakashi saw her off, but the man didn't utter any sentence with more than three words, more interested in his book than the conversation going on around him.

" Sakura-chan, have you met anyone in Musutafu, Japan yet?" Naruto asked when they had exited the car.

Sakura nodded. " Yep. Remember All Might? Yeah, well he's going to be teaching at U.A. this year. Not to mention Midoriya and Firecracker. I think you'd enjoy Midoriya's company, Naruto. He reminds me a bit of you."

Sakura didn't speak much on the matter of All Might. No one in Konoha but the pinkette and her mentor knew about his condition, and the only reason Sakura knew in the first place was because Tsunade thought that Sakura could help with All Might's problem at the time. Nothing the two did recovered All Might to full health though.

" Why? Is he just as handsome and powerful as me?" Naruto boasted proudly, flexing his muscles in front of Sakura.

The girl let out a laugh before joining in with the blonde. One hand holding onto her bag, Sakura's other arm was busying trying to outshine Naruto's training. At one point, Naruto got Kakashi to compared his arm with the blonde's. But the Pro refused to even look up from his book.

" Which one's more buff, Sakura-chan? Mine, right?" Naruto asked, having to push Kakashi's muscles up. " Damn it Kakashi-sensei, I told you to flex!"

As the two started to bicker, Sakura let out a laugh at Naruto's antics and Kakashi's short comebacks. Noticing the time, Kakashi let out a cough and shut his orange book, but of course not before placing a book mark as to not lose his page. His action caught the two teen's attention.

" It seems it's about time Sakura gets on her plane." Kakashi commented, tapping his wrist watch. " Have a safe trip Sakura."

" Thank you." Sakura said, waving good-bye to the two who saw her off. Ino would've come, but she had to attend a requested session from her parents to work on her team work with Shikamaru and Choji. " Bye Naruto. Bye Kakashi-sensie."

Naruto waved his hands high up in the air. " Bye Sakura-chan, don't forget to call!"

Giving one last wave, Sakura walked away and boarded her plane. This time, she fell asleep straight away, slightly still tired from staying up until two in the morning. The adults did warn Ino, Sakura, Kiba, and Naruto from keeping the party too lively, now everyone who had stayed was rewarded with dark circles under their eyes.

By the time Sakura woke up, two hours had pass, but it wasn't enough to get rid of the eye bags. Tiredly, she stared out the widow, trying to figure out what city they were flying over. Before the girl knew it, they had arrived at Musutafu, Japan. When it came for the pinkette to get off, she took hold of her small bag and walked out.

" Young Haruno! Over here!" All Might called out in his original form. The man was trying his best to catch the girl's attention without bringing too much attention to himself.

Sakura gave a smile and made her way over to him. " Where's Midoriya? Is he at school, wait, no, the more important question is did he pass?"

" Like A Hero." All Might said, giving a proud smile. It was obvious the man was over flowing with the delight of a parent that his successor had pass the U.A. entrance exam. All Might gesture for Sakura to follow him. " Come on, you have school tomorrow, you still need to hand in your costume design and get your uniform."

Quickly, Sakura got into the car and placed her bag on her lap. All Might smoothly drove to U.A. and Sakura couldn't help but be a bit giddy at the fact that it was going to be her school tomorrow. Once they made it, Sakura walked alongside All Might and into the school.

" Haruno, correct? Do you have your design papers with you? We already have your uniform ready, here you go." A rat-like creature asked the pinkette when she had entered the office.

" Uh huh." Sakura nodded, taking a folder out of her bag and handing it to the well-dressed creature. " Are you the principal?"

As she held out her hand for the uniform, the creature introduced himself as Nezu, the principal of U.A. Sakura clutched her uniform delicately once she got it, and bid her farewell to Principal Nezu as she walked over to the exit door.

" And Haruno? Glad to have you with us." Principal Nezu commented before Sakura walked out the door.

The pinkette grin as she closed the door behind her. Chatting with All Might through the whole ride to her house, Sakura couldn't help but enjoy her fortune. Finally after five minutes, the car came to a stop in front of her house.

" Stay safe Young Haruno." All Might reminded the girl. " And don't open the door for strangers, okay?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at him, a smile gracing her features. " Don't worry All Might. The last thing I want is to die before starting school."

That night, Sakura did her usual routine before going to bed. The only difference was the school uniform that was hung in her closet. And of course the envelope that sat on her desk unopened. The pinkette had decided to not open it until the day come where she needed to be reminded of her self worth.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura had woken up earlier than she normally would. Still full of sleep, but with a layer of excitement, Sakura washed up and got dress. Slipping into the school's uniform and putting on her thigh high socks, Sakura found herself more or less happy.

After having breakfast, Sakura made her way to U.A. but of course after she locked the door. Humming, the pinkette was in front of Class 1-A's opened door in only about ten minutes. Before she had even crossed over the door, yells and howls were heard from out in the halls. Curiously, Sakura peered passed the door, drawing attention to herself.

" Haruno? You're in Class 1-A as well?" Midoriya's voice asked next to a couple of students. One of them was the tall teen who had called Midoriya out during the entrance exam.

Frowning, Sakura walked over to the group. " Hey! What do you think you're doing? You're the only who called Midoriya out yesterday, right?"

" My name is Tenya Iida, I just wanted to ask Midoriya something about the entrance exam." Iida said, holding out his hands as if it was a show of a truce. " If I may ask, who are you? Were you recommended or did you take the Entrance Exam as well?'

" I took the Entrance Exam and my name is Sakura Haruno." The pinkette mumbled, but soon recovered her smile. " Call me Sakura."

The brunette next to Midoriya stepped forward to introduce herself. " Hi, I'm Ochaco Uraraka, pleasure to meet you. I hope we become good friends."

Suddenly, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida stopped moving. They seemed to be looking passed the pinkette and at something strange. Wondering why, Sakura turned around to see a man in a sleeping bag, his face worn out and his posture on the floor. Surprise, Sakura jumped back a little.

" It took five seconds for you to be quiet. You kids aren't rational with time enough." The man said. " I'm your homeroom teacher, Shoto Aizawa. Nice to meet you. Now , this might be sudden but go put these on and meet me out in the fields."

Aizawa held up what seemed to be work out uniforms at the students. Carefully, Sakura took one into her hands and examine it. As everyone got their own, Aizawa had vanished, out in the fields Sakura had figure.

" Come one Sakura-chan, we don't want to be the last one." Uraraka said, tugging on Sakura's hand softly in the direction of the changing room.

The pinkette followed the girls into the changing room and they exited one by one, all heading to where Aizawa had told them to go. Once they were all there, Aizawa decided to fill them in on what they were going to do. When he finished, the classed stared at him, dumbfounded at what the Pro said.

" Quirk Assessment Test?!" Class 1-A unison together, each not liking that it was.

Uraraka was the first to point out the Entrance Ceremony. " W-wait! What about the Entrance Ceremony? The Orientation?"

" If you want to become a Pro Hero, you don't have time for such events. U.A.'s selling point is how unrestricted its tradition is." Aizawa replied, and the way he said it made everyone tense up. " You may have done something like this before. Physical were you're not allowed to use you Quirk. Bakugou, what was you best softball throw?"

Surprised to hear the name, Sakura peered over Uraraka to see the blonde boy. She let out a smile when Bakugou's answer was 67 meters. Suddenly, Aizawa tossed Bakugou a softball. " Try using you Quirk."

Bakugou entered a white circle and stretched out his arms. With his fingers wrapped around the ball, Bakugou threw the ball into the air. A trail of explosion fire followed it's path not to Sakura's surprise. The ball zoomed through the air, creating holes in the clouds before landing some where in the distance.

" Die...!"

Aizawa held up a device to show the score of the throw, 705.2 meters. " This is the most rational way to build the foundation of a Hero."

Everyone was too stun to make a comment. However, when someone stated how fun it seemed, Aizawa's face was far from pleased. And Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes at the students who dare utter the sentence.

" Fun huh? Will you have an attitude like that when you're cornered by a villain? Fine then," Aizawa gave an eerie grin at then. " Who ever comes in last gets label as having no potential and will be force to leave U.A. Better make a plan, it's now going to effect your future more than you thought."

Everyone suddenly gave a nervous look, and there was a certain someone who Sakura observed seemed the most nervous at the new rule. Sighing, she walked up to the boy and gave his back three pats, which adverted his eyes from his hands to Sakura's smiling face.

" Don't worry Midoriya, I'm sure you'll do just fine." Sakura encouraged to which the boy only gave her a weak smile.

" Everyone, shut up. The real thing starts now, U.A.'s Hero Course." Aizawa said, shushing everyone with another of his evil grins. Sakura stared up at the sky for a moment, there was no way she was going to be last, she work way to hard to just be expelled on the first day.

* * *

Test One: 50-meter Dash

For this test, Aizawa took out a device that calculated their speed. Iida and a girl, Asui, were the first to run the 50 meter dash. Iida's results were no surprise, the engines on his legs had already told Sakura all she needed to know about his Quirk. Asui's Quirk was a bit more interesting.

In the end, Iida managed a 3.04 seconds and Asui a 5.58. After awhile of waiting, Sakura's turn had finally came. As she got into a running start, the pinkette noticed the girl next to her. Momo Yaoyorozu, a recommended student.

Hiding a smile, Sakura focused on her Quirk, pumping it to her legs. With a Ready, Set, Go, Sakura took off, creating small crack lines that spread out while she was at it. While the take off was rather destructive on solid ground, the rest of the steps were light but fast paced.

" 3.07, impressive there Haruno." Aizawa commented, sparing the pinkette a fleeting glance. " 3.19 Yaoyorozu."

Pumping her fist in the air, Sakura made her way over to Uraraka who seemed to have a new found admiration for the pinkette. Sheepishly, Sakura scratched the back of her head when Uraraka started to praise her.

" Thanks, but we still have six more test to go through so lets not celebrate just yet." Sakura pointed out.

" Lets think positive! Positive!" Uraraka cheered, suddenly turning to Midoriya who tried to cover his beet red face, but much to no success.

Frowning, Sakura glanced at the boy at the corner of her eyes, trying not to make it obvious she was worryingly observing Midoriya. She was worried enough about him during the Entrance Exam, but now her frustration had suddenly came back in Aizawa's Test.

She couldn't help it though, Midoriya was like a younger brother to her, her being only four months older though.

" Hey, Midoriya! People keeps talking about you as if you're some kind of prodigy at the Entrance Exam, you better prove your worth." Sakura commented, but there was extra words in her sentence that only the boy heard. _Prove your worth as All Might's heir._

" I'll give it my all!" Midoriya said, his eyes lighting up.

* * *

Test Two: Grip Strength

During the next test, Sakura stood in a corner, letting Midoriya to collect his thoughts. Uraraka ran over to the pinkette and handed her a grip device. Surprised at the gesture of kindness, Sakura thanked her.

" You didn't really have to get it for me, but thanks." Sakura said smiling.

Uraraka let out a small laugh. " You were standing still for awhile, I thought I'd get you one since it looked like you forgot how to even move."

Sakura cast a glance at the device before letting out a bored smile. Wrapping her fingers around the handle, Sakura compressed it, her eyes glowing green by the use of her Quirk. After a second, she held up the device up for her to see her score. 840.05 Kilograms.

" Good enough." Sakura said under her breathe. She suddenly dropped her cheerful aura. " Lady Tsunade would have my head if she saw this."

" Eh? Who's this Lady Tsunade? Unless it's _the_ Tsuande..." Uraraka trailed off, forgetting to try out her strength. In the end, Sakura had to remind the brunette after the pinkette had showed her results to Aizawa, as she was still lost in her thoughts.

" Come on Ochaco, it's time for the third test." Sakura called for the girl who was returning her own score to Aizawa.

* * *

Test Three: Standing Long Jump

The third test was much like the first, except they were to jump instead of run. While most was able to jump over the sand box, Midoriya seemed to be the only one struggling with his Quirk usage. Sighing, Sakura walked over to the boy who didn't even seem to even notice her.

She had came over to give his some wise words, but after seeing him mumble, she decided not to. For all she knew, Midoriya would only look deeper into her words, questioning everything even if it was only a simple comment.

" I really wish I could help him more." Sakura muttered, and when she saw the curious look on Uraraka's face, the pinkette shook her head. " It's nothing."

* * *

Test Four: Repeated Side Steps

Sakura tried to put on a confident front, but she found herself glaring at Mineta who shrunk back a little. It wasn't his fault, it was just that he was the closest living thing near her since Uraraka was busy taking the fourth test. Finally, it was her turn.

Nervously, she tried her best to keep up her speed at the same time as trying not to put in too much strength or else her leg would sink into the ground since she had limited space to side step. When she finished, she plopped down on the ground, breathless from the exercise.

" I hate the Repeated Side Steps." Sakura groaned, turning over and on to her stomach. For the rest of the fourth test, the pinkette observed the students on the ground, finding comfort from where she was laying.

* * *

Test Five: Ball Throw

Now _this_ was something Sakura knew she could handle. Sakura jumped up for Uraraka when her score came up as infinity. Smiling, Uraraka high five the pinkette as they switch spots. It was now Sakura's turn to do the ball throw.

Tightly clenching the ball in her hand, Sakura pulled her arm back in a ready form. She went through the motions of throwing five time before actually releasing. On the fifth time, the ball went zooming though the sky at an amazing speed.

Smoke trailed after the softball, because the pressure and the force put into the throw had caused it to break through air unnaturally. The speed didn't allowed any oxygen to surround the ball, and it was only being held up in the sky by force. Finally, the ball slowed down and came to a stop in the distance.

Aizawa held up Sakura's number for her and the class to see. 973.03 Meters was the results of the throw. Instantly, half the class erupted into chatter, praising the girl on her handy work.

" I had underestimated you Haruno." Iida commented while others nodded along with him.

However, everything went silent when Midoriya stepped up. Everyone was curious on why he hadn't use his Quirk, so they paid close attention when he was handed the ball. However, when he threw the ball and it only went a couple feet, the class begun to mutter.

" What's going on?"

" Why isn't he using his Quirk?"

" I had erased your Quirk." Aizawa's voice came from in front of the pinkette. The scarf around his neck was now surrounding him in mid-air. Sakura searched her memory to find where she found that familiar, and then, it finally came. Aizawa was the Pro Hero Eraser Head.

Suddenly, Aizawa's scarf wrapped around Midoriya and brought the boy closer to the Pro. From where she stood, Sakura couldn't make out any proper words, but from the look of it, it wasn't a pleasant conversation on Midoriya's part.

Finally, Aizawa stepped back, allowing Midoriya another chance at the Ball Throw. For a minute, the boy didn't do anything, but it was only a minute because the next thing she knew, Midoriya had thrown the ball. And from the looks of it, it went slightly passed Bakugou's.

Sakura right away notice the look of pain of Midoriya's face so she made her way over to him. " Geez, there you go again, breaking your bones." The pinkette held out her hand, and Midoriya rested his finger on it. Sakura's eyes glowed blue as she healed the bone, and in a matter of only a minute, Midoriya's finger was as good as new. " Try to control it properly next time."

" Deku, you Quirkless Dork!"

Suddenly, Bakugou charged at Midoriya's way, his face twisted in anger. Before the blonde would reach Midoriya though, he was retrained by Aizawa's scarf. As Midoriya edged away, Sakura passed Bakugo with her eyes watching his anger dim down.

There just something about him she couldn't place a finger on.

* * *

The rest of the test went by smoothly, and Sakura didn't even bat another eye of worry. When the results were shown, Sakura found herself actually being first with only a couple of points more than Yaoyorozu.

As the pinkette's eyes travel down the list, she grew more anxious. Finally, she saw it, and just as she had feared, Midoriya was last. Before Sakura could say anything to the boy, Aizawa spoke up.

" One more thing." The Pro said. " I lied, no one's getting expelled. It was just so you did your best."

" Eh?!" Sakura found herself pulled her hand back to her side, retreating from patting Midoroya on the head. Sighing at the stunt Aizawa pulled, Sakura couldn't help but smile a bit. Everyone in Class 1-A were now official students of U.A. and she couldn't be more happy.

* * *

At the end of the school day, Sakura found herself walking out by herself, however, when she spotted Midoriya, she raced over to him. When she made it, she was caught in the middle of a conversation about Midoriya's name and what Bakugou calls him.

" Seriously, Deku?" Sakura said, swinging an arm around Midoriya's neck. " Okay if I call you that?"

" Of course!" Midoriya yelped, surprise as to why he didn't see her up until now.

However, just as sudden as she came, Sakura left, claiming she was tired from today, and she was. Today was a test day where she could've been expelled. Tomorrow was class with All Might. It was like putting two and two together.

Tomorrow was the day where she was going to start her days as an official U.A. student.


	5. Series I: Five

The next day of school, much to Sakura's joy, had no surprise test that got you expelled. English was Present Mic was more or less loud and entertaining. And of course lunch which, just like yesterday, was delicious. However, everyone started getting anxious when Hero Basic Training was just around the corner.

" I am..." A booming voice said before the class could even see a body. "...Coming through the door like a normal person!"

" It's All Might!" Kaminari shouted, and the class erupted in chatter.

However, it didn't take long for everyone to settle down, because when All Might opened his mouth again, everyone paid close attention to what ever he had to say. Sakura couldn't help but notice the admiration her classmates had for the Symbol of Peace, it just reminded her the reward if being a Hero.

" Hero Basic Training is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero." All Might informed. " You'll take the most units of this subject. Now lets get straight into it!" The Pro suddenly held up a card for the class to see. "...Combat training!"

Sakura and a couple of her classmates grin in excitement. The pinkette specialized in combat of many form, even more than her defensive style. So because of that, Sakura just couldn't stop the cheer that escaped her, resulting in many more from the students surrounding her as well.

" And to go with that are these!" All Might gave a dramatic pause before pointing at the wall. " Costumes based on your Quirk registration."

Rows of cases came out of the wall, each with a number on them. The pinkette was number twenty-one, making class 1-A at odds with students while class 1-B had only twenty. Excitedly, Class 1-A rushed to go change, Sakura and Uraraka chatting in animated tones.

" This is our first lesson with All Might! I'm so pumped!" Uraraka cheered, her face lighting up with every word.

" I wonder how we're going to be doing the combat training." Sakura voiced, entering the girl's changing room with Uraraka beside her. " To be honest, I'm also excited to see how my costume ended up."

Carefully, Sakura opened her case and pulled out a dark gray skintight suit that was sleeveless and was cut five inches above her knee. The suit had a white waist line with red lines accenting it. Just an inch down the neckline of the suit were two white annulus circles. Smiling, Sakura put it on

Admiring herself, the pinkette's eyes suddenly fell on the gloves that were neatly still resting in the case. Easily, Sakura slipped them on. The gloves were fingerless but were made out of a sort of cortex that absorbed any impact that the skin would of have taken if bare.

The gloves went a bit passed her elbow and were in the matching colors with the suit. The pinkette then took out the bulky metal gloves out next and put them on. While the cortex gloves were thin and tight, the metal gloves circled the pinkette's arm at the end. The metal gauntlet gloves were fingerless as well but it barely passed Sakura's wrist.

Finally, Sakura pulled out her foot wear, which consisted with a pair of flared leg warmers that hid more metal weights wrapped around Sakura's ankle. Around the pinkette's waist was a brown waist pouch that contained blades and knives for throwing, a sort of hobby that Tsunade taught Sakura to learn incase the pinkette was low on energy or stamina.

" Sakura-chan, are you done? Lets go." Uraraka called, already halfway through the door.

Quickly, Sakura ran over to the brunette, getting use to the feeling of her costume as she moved her body around. "Wait up." When the pinkette caught up, the two made their way out, meeting Midoriya and the rest of Class 1-A on the way.

All Might came into view as Sakura got closer to Ground Beta's arena, and the Pro grinned at them when he saw them coming out. " They say clothes makes the young men and ladies. Shall we begin?"

The class nodded, signaling All Might their answer. All Might explained that they were all to split up into groups of villain or hero and have an indoor battle. The object of the training was for the heroes to try to at least touch the nuclear weapon that the villains had hidden.

The villains on the other hand have to try to keep the weapon safe and stall the heroes from finding it. Suddenly, Iida raised his hand in question. " Excuse me, we have twenty-one students, which means it's odd. Will someone have to sit out, and how are we going to pick teams?"

" That's a good thing." All Might grinned. " In the future, you won't have any ideas about how many villains you'll have to go up against or the amount of heroes you'll have to work along side with. And to pick teams, we'll do the old fashion way of drawing paper."

Once All Might finished his explaining, he held out a box. Each student went up and took out a piece of paper with a letter on it. When Sakura got her's, she unrolled the paper and glanced at it. Just as she went to find the other members of her team, Midoriya approached her.

" I got Team A, how about you Haruno?" The boy asked, holding up his paper.

Sakura gave him a wide grin, tossing her piece of paper to him. " Guess we'll be on the same team. Come on, let's go check to see if we're the one who have an extra member."

" Deku! Sakura-chan!" Uraraka called, running up to the two while she waved her paper in the air. " Tokoyami told me Deku got Team A, and I suppose you did as well since you're together. Guess I'll be joining you two."

Trying to cover his face, Midoriya grew flustered. When everyone else figured out their team, All Might stuck his hand into a Hero's and Villain's box, picking the first team that were going to go first. Quickly pulling his arms out, All Might showed the results.

" The first team to go are A and D." All Might said. " A as heroes and D as villains. Come on, who ever aren't going first should head into the monitor room."

When most of the students walked away, Sakura spotted Iida and Bakugou staying behind. However, before the pinkette could say anything to them, All Might directed for Team D to head into the building first, advising them to truly try to think from the perspective of a villain.

" You guys will go in after five minutes, which should give Young Bakugou and Young Iida time to set up." All Might informed Team A.

Sakura nodded, leaning back onto the railings behind her. " Lets do out best, you guys."

" Of course!" Uaraka cheered, however, Midoriya stayed silent, causing the two girls to glance his way. Uraraka yelped, and jumped back a little while Sakura stepped back from what she saw. Midoriya was anything but excited at the moment, he was even sweating through his suit, his eyes wide and blank.

" Uh, are you okay?" Sakura asked gently, taking a step toward the boy. " You're sweating... a lot and I don't think it's from the heat."

" I-it's just that we're up against Kacchan is all..." Midoriya stuttered. " And there's also Iida, so I feel like I need to be on guard more than usual for just a combat training."

Sakura let out a sigh while Uraraka talked with Midoriya, not liking how the boy was belittling himself by comparing his confidence and physical strength to those of Bakugo's own, and from how it was being said, Midoriya seems to have a lot of respect toward the blonde boy which sounds like it came from childhood memories.

" But that's why right now..." Midoriya suddenly out in, causing Sakura to look up at him. "...I don't..want to lose to him."

Standing up as well, Sakura patted the boy on his back, causing Midoriya to nearly drop the sheets of papers in his hands that All Might gave him. " Then let's do out best, we _are_ a team. I was almost beginning to think you were going to chicken out."

Suddenly, All Might's booming voice was heard through the ear piece that the Pro had given to the two team, one for each member. " Okay! Let's now start the indoor combat battle between Team A and Team D. Start!"

Swiftly, Sakura made her way to an opened window and motioned for Uraraka and Midoriya to follow her. Once they had came over, the pinkette held up one of her finger to her lips as a sign to stay quiet. She them climbed into the window, and gestured for the two to follow suited. Once they were all in, Midoriya took the lead and start to walk down a hallway.

" There's a lot of blind spots so lets be careful." Midoriya said to which Sakura and Uraraka nodded in reply.

They stopped at a corner, and Uraraka checked to see if it was clear before they started heading down the next hallway. Silently, the three teens searched for where the nuclear weapon may be at the same time as keeping their senses sharp for the villain team that may jump out at any given time.

At each corner they came across, one of them would check to see if it was clear before going on. Sakura had her hands in a ready position to move toward her pouch of blades in case either Bakugou or Iida was to suddenly appear with out any sound.

However, at the same time, worry clashed with her confidence for her team. It wasn't that she didn't think they couldn't handle Team D, it was just that if push come to shove, Midoriya was going to have to use One for All which could result in building damages or sever injuries for both Midoriya and whoever was in the way.

But it seem like, from the look on Midoriya's face, he had decided on not using One for All and instead was going to rely on his wits for the battle. Sakura relaxed a bit, however, her guard was still up for Team D.

Sakura's eyes suddenly widened and out of reflex, instead of grabbing for a blade like planned, she jumped to the side, avoiding getting hit on the face from an explosion. Bakugou had jumped out of no where, and was now aiming another explosion at who ever was closest.

" Come on Deku, don't dodge." Bakugou calmly said in a bitter tone. " Use your Quirk!"

Bakugou ran at Midoriya, his palm sparking, and at the same time, Midoriya ran toward him as well. Before Bakugou's explosion could release, Midoriya grabbed his left hand and shoulder tossed the blonde boy in one swift movement.

"...My Deku isn't going to mean "Useless" anymore," Midoriya panted for breath. " My Deku now means "You can do it!"

Bakugou slowly got up, his eyes narrowed and piercing. He charged at Midoriya, however, before the boy could take his second step, he was suddenly sent flying down the hall, passed Midoriya and into a wall. Sakura stood where Bakugou once was, her fist out.

" Sorry Firecracker, but I just couldn't resist." Sakura said, smiling widely. " I thought you forgot about the rest of us."

" Damn you Bubblegum!" Bakugou shouted, getting up as he wiped the blood from his mouth. " Fine, if that's how you want it."

However, just as Bakugou was about to charge, he seemed to stop mid-way to touch his ear. It was obvious he was talking with Iida through the small wireless radio. Bakugou, after hissing out a shut up, hung up and glared at Sakura.

Instantly Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled out a blade and the capture tape that was given to her from All Might. With experience, the pinkette threw the blade, not at Bakugou but next to him so he would at least stop for a minute. And just as she had hoped, the blonde froze in surprise.

" Ochaco, Deku, go now!" Sakura signaled as she rushed at Bakugou. " Look for Iida!"

Taking advantage of the distraction she had caused by shouting at the two, Sakura unrolled the tape and tried to wrap it around Bakugou's arm. However, she soon got a face full of explosions that forced her retreat to a safe distance.

Hissing, Bakugou raised his opened hand and it started to spark. " You should've ran with them Bubblegum."

Foretelling the attack, Sakura ducked down and started to run from there. Bakugou, not being able to see anything but his blast that looked to be taking up all the room in the hallway, smirk in victory. However, it soon died down when he saw Sakura's hand on his wrist, her eyes glowing green.

Quickly, before Bakugou could counter anything, Sakura squeezed the boy's hand and forced it into the wall. At first making the hole and then driving Bakugou's fist into it last. Knowing full well that he could easily get out with an explosion in just a second, the pinkette decided to look for her team with the short head start she had.

Pumping her Quirk to her legs, Sakura was able to get away from Bakugou's yelling with a couple of sharp turns. Suddenly, the pinkette crashed into someone, and when she looked up, her eyes met with Midoriya's.

" Where's Ochaco?" Sakura quietly asked when she saw no sign of the girl nearby.

Midoriya gestured for her to follow him as he explained. " We decided to split up to cover more grounds. She's probably a floor above us."

As they continued to walk around, Sakura noticed the distant look in Midoriya's eyes and nudged him with her hand, causing him to silently jump up a bit. " I've been meaning to ask, what's up with Firecracker and you? I'm sure it goes deeper than just a nickname such as Deku."

" It's a long story, one that we don't have time for at the moment." Midoriya tried to give the girl a bright smile but it came out rather dull.

Suddenly Uraraka's voice could be heard. " Sakura-chan, Deku! Iida found me and right now he's slowly advancing on me. What do you need me to do?"

Sakura frowned at the news. " We probably don't have much time left. Ochaco, where are you?"

" On the fifth floor." Uraraka replied while Iida in the background rambled on.

Before either Sakura or Midoriya could same anything, a sudden humming came from behind them, causing them to look back in surprise. There, grinning, Bakugou stood in front of them, his gauntlet glowing a bright red.

" They're loaded." Bakugou said, as if warning them of danger. " Why aren't you using your Quirk, are you saying you can win with out them? Deku, you Bastard!"

Sakura, out of reflex held out a arm in front of Midoriya, as if to shield him from the boy before them. She narrowed her eyes as her hand reach for her pouch, Swiftly she took out five and quickly released them at Bakugo. The blonde, getting tired of the trick created a small explosion that caused the blades to lose their speed.

" I'm getting tired of this Bubblegum." Bakugou snarled. " Get out of the way so I can fight Deku!"

Sakura let out a frown before she started to run at Bakugou in full speed. She aimed a kick high in the air, hitting Bakugou under the chin during the process. The attack had caused the boy's teeth to bit down on his tongue and blood started to drip out as he went flying back and into a wall, leaving a large dent.

Bakugou didn't even flinch ad instead calmly wipe away the blood, slowing getting back up. Suspicious about what he was up to, Sakura did a couple of flips back to Midoriya's side. When she glanced at Bakugou once more, she saw that he was giving her and Midoriya both a crooked smirk.

" My Quirk, Explosion lets me secrete nitroglycerin-like sweat from the sweat glands in my palms and turn it in to an explosion." Bakugou explained as if he was giving a lecture. " If they had made this the way I asked..."

Sakura's eyes widened, taking in the full picture of what Bakugou was trying to say. " Deku run!"

Midoriya surprised about the sudden demand stood confused. Groaning, Sakura swung the boy over her shoulder and turned to the nearest wall. Her eyes glowed green as she pulled her fist back. She took a stance and punched the wall, causing the whole hallway to burst open from the impact and the wall to crack into pieces.

Metal parts were half peeled off from the force and windows nearby shattered. Sakura had to dig her own heel into the ground to stop herself from flying back. The rippling wind that was created helped slowed down Bakugou from pulling his gauntlets completely. However, despite the wind that was created, Sakura didn't slow down in getting away, and instead started to run down the opposite hall and away from the blonde boy.

After awhile the pinkette placed Midoriya back down after stopping. " Sorry about that but come on, Firecracker's probably catching up by now."

And as if on cue, Bakugou came running to them, however, he stopped a couple of feet away. His eyes glared dagger into the two and with one single movement, he pulled on one of his gauntlet. Sakura and Midoriya's eye widened as a ball of heat came rushing at them.

Sakura shield her head, but it wasn't enough. Instead she along with her teammate was sent hurling back, their skin burning from the explosion. The pinkette felt the building shake as she smacked into a wall to which it cracked from the force.

Wincing the pinkette opened her eyes slowly, taking in the view of the room she was in. It was completely destroyed, the walls were cracked and burnt while the wall that the explosion at hit was opened and falling apart. Taking in a deep breath, Sakura's eyes glowed blue as her bruises, scratches and burns faded away.

" Deku, are you okay?" Sakura asked as she carefully got up from the ground. " Firecracker had gone too far with that stunt."

" I'm okay." Midoriya managed to mumble out as he too got up. " Follow me."

Nodding, the pinkette followed Midoriya across the room until they were right next to one of the still intact windows. Just as they got there, Bakugo showed up in the hole that was created from his explosion, his face twisted in a scowl.

" Ochaco, what's the situation?" Sakura asked calmly despite the unease she felt. Time was running out on them and it was going at it in a fast pace. " Deku, do you have a plan? Hurry though, time's almost out."

Giving a small nod, Midoriya explained to them about what they were going to do in a quiet voice. All the while, Sakura could't help but notice the expressions on Bakugou's face. All Might was definitely talking about the attack Bakugou had used and was telling the boy the limit of it now.

" Go to the pillar near the windows, over and out." Midoriya finished, closing connection. " Sakura, leave Kacchan to me. I need to do this by myself."

The pinkette nodded, a smile on her face. This was the first time the boy called her by her first name even though she had insisted many time in the past for him to do so earlier. " Roger that Deku."

Before long, Bakugou launched himself at Midoriya, using his Quirk as an engine to boost himself. Quickly Sakura got out of the way, heeding Midoriya's request. She winced when she saw Midoriya getting a face full of smoke when Bakugo doubled his explosion attack and instead aim for the green haired boy's back.

This time, as Bakugou continue on with his attack, Sakura had to force herself to stay back. Midoriya had made a decision to go head on with Bakugou, and as a good friend, Sakura could only encourage him on with his plan.

" You've been mocking me, haven't you?!" Bakugou raged, advancing on Midoriya who had crawled over to a wall. " You're underestimating me!?"

" That's not it..." Midoriya mumbled out. "...You're an amazing person, that's why I want to beat you!"

As if to prove his point, Midoriya charged at Bakugou, his fist pulled back. Bakugou gladly ran forward as well, his own hand ready to strike at Midoriya. With Bakugou's had sparking and Midoriya's fist pulsing with power, Sakura got ready for Midoriya's plan for her.

" Lets go Team A!" Midoriya shouted, and at the last moment, instead of hitting Bakugou, he raised his hand up to the ceiling.

Only a blur, Sakura took off from the ground. The ceiling had started to collapsed and debris from it were big enough for Sakura to jump on. Swiftly the pinkette hopped from one rubbish to another, making her way up to the floor where Uraraka ad Iida were at.

Once she was on the fifth floor, Sakura instantly went for Iida who seem surprised to see her. Sakura aimed a kick at the tall boy's head to which he blocked it by holding up his arms. However his action of defense wasn't enough.

The impact broke Iida's metal gloves, shattering it to pieces. Iida's eyes widened, distracted by the metal parts falling to the ground. Taking advantage of the situation, Sakura pulled her fist back and punched the boy in the middle of his chest.

The attack sent Iida flying to the wall behind him. The power put into the punch had even caused blood to drip out of Iida's mouth, and for his forehead to bleed slightly as well when it had hit against the wall. Guilty but satisfied with the results, Sakura turned to Uraraka who was now touching the Nuclear weapon with a smile on her face.

" Hero Team wins!" Came All Might's resonating voice through everyone's ear piece.


	6. Series I: Six

Sakura held up her hand to her ear, trying to contact Midoriya. However, even though the ear piece was humming, the boy didn't answer. Frowning the pinkette jumped down into the hole that Midoriya had made to find that the said boy had passed out, his hand broken and his costume ruined.

" Deku?" Sakura questioned gently before she let out a sigh. " Never mind."

" Over here Young Haruno." All Might's voice came, a stretcher following him from behind. " Bring him here, he'll go to Recovery Girl so you can watch the other's battle."

Nodding the girl lifted Midoriya up and brought him over to the stretcher. As the device carried Midoriya away, Uraraka and Iida had jumped down as well and was now making their way over to the monitor room to review the results of the combat training. Both of them didn't seem to even be mad about the outcome of the battle.

Uraraka turned back and waved Sakura over. " Come on Sakura-chan, lets go back to check the score."

" Coming!" Sakura smiled, and as she ran over to the two, her eyes landed on Bakugou, his breathing rigid and his eyes piercing.

As she swept passed him, she made sure to bump into him on the shoulders, surprising the boy. Sakura motioned for him to follow her to which the boy sneered but did as he was asked. Quietly they made their way to the monitor room, Bakugou a step behind from the group.

" Good work Team A, same to you Team D. As you know, Team A were the ones who won this first battle." All Might congratulated, but he gave a small paused. " However, i'm going to have to say that the MVP for his battle was Young Iida."

Almost everyone looked shock, Iida being the most. Sakura crossed her arms and leaned into the wall, waiting for someone to explain what All Might meant. Of course before that happened, there was the expected questions about why the actual winners weren't the MVP.

" Hmm... does anyone know why?" All Might grinned.

Yaoyorozu raised her hand. " That is because Iida adapted the most to the context of the training. From what i've watched, Bakugo acted on his own because of a personal grudge. Midoriya's plan was too rash, resulting in building damage and serious injuries.

Haruno decided to allow Midoriya to fight Bakugou head on because of a simple reason such as following Midoriya's wish to fight Bakugou alone whereas in a real event, that would result in serious consequence. As for Uraraka, she let her guard down in mid-battle. The Hero team won because they took advantage of the fact that this was only training."

" Uh huh, however, Young Iida have some part that could be more relax as well." All Might commented. " But that was all correct."

" We must strive to devote ourself to wholeheartedly train, otherwise we won't be able to become top heroes." Yaoyorozu continued, as expected of a recommended student.

When she finished, All Might fished through the villain and hero box to determine the next battle. He pulled out his hand to reveal a black ball with the letter I and a white ball with the letter B. Once everything was sorted, the four students elected made their way to building B.

" Now lets start the second match of the indoor person-to-person battle!" All Might shouted, signaling the teams to start.

Sakura watched as Shoji used his Quirk to figure out where the other team were and what they were doing. The pinkette raised an eyebrow however when Todoroki said something to Shoji that caused the boy to o outside.

Sakura leaned forward a bit when she noticed Todoroki's hand covered in ice as he placed his hand on a random wall. In an instance the ice advance all over the building, stopping Team I from making a move to stop their enemy when he walked into the room and touch the nuclear weapon.

When Todoroki placed his hand on the weapon, steam evaporated off the wall and floor and the ice melted away. In less than ten minutes, Team B was already announced as the winner of Round Two.

" He's really strong!" Sakura said, relaxing her body when the temperature went back up to it's original state. " Wasn't he a recommended student as well?"

" Yep so of course it's no surprise." Uraraka informed, staring in awe at the screen that was displaying Todoroki's score.

" All right everyone, gather around for the review of the second match." All Might directed when both Team I and B entered the room after while of waiting. " Next we'll begin the third match at the third battle building."

Once again All Might pulled out a black and a white ball, and this time Sero and Kirishima were villains while Tokoyami and Asui were heroes. At this point Sakura started to pay less attention to the battles and more on observing the classmates around her.

Todoroki with his Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk was someone to respect. Mineta more or less was anything but someone worth of respect. However, someone Sakura couldn't place a finger on was Bakugou. For as long as she had known him, which wasn't long, he and Midoriya seemed to always be on rocky terms.

" Oi Bubblegum, do I seem that weak that Deku won against me?" Bakugou hissed, his fist clenched tightly as if he was about to hit something.

Confused on why he was asking her, Sakura tilted her head to the side a bit. " To me it looks like Deku still have a long ways to go before you guys can have a proper match without him having a limit in using his Quirk. In the meantime, I think it was more of Deku's plan that won our fight. Why'd you ask?"

" Tch, that bastard lied to me." Bakugou raged, his body shaking in anger. " Why? Does he think I'm stupid? Has be been laughing at me all this time?!"

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, this feeling that Bakugou had was beyond just being pissed. Sighing the pinkette patted the boy on the back, causing the boy to whirl around to face her in anger.

" What?!" Bakugou shouted loudly, but it wasn't enough to draw attention to them. The two teens where in fact standing in a corner, far from the other students.

" Don't you think you're putting too much assumptions into a single subject?" Sakura asked as she slid down the wall and onto the ground. " I mean it's not really something to get worked up over about. So what if Midoriya had lied about being Quirkless?"

The pinkette didn't mention anything about the truth of how Midoriya's Quirk was actually passed down to him. That was something that shouldn't be shared publicly without any thought put into it about who was listening or who is was being told to.

Bakugou glared at Sakura to which the girl only shrugged her shoulders. The two stayed silent after that, and Sakura's attention was diverted back to the matches in front of her which were already coming to an end with the villain's team winning the last battle. With a quick review of the match with All Might, the class came to an end.

" Good work everyone!" All Might cheered to the class, his voice resonating as always. " We didn't have any major injuries beside Midoriya's, which is good. You all did good on only your first combat training. Well then, I'll be off to review the results with Midoriya. And Haruno? Come with me, you may be able to help with Midoriya's injuries as well, there's only so much Recovery Girl can do for him."

Before Sakura could even take a step toward All Might, the pro was already off to the elevator, leaving the pinkette to groan and race after him. Pumping strength into her legs, Sakura took off with just enough speed for her to enter the elevator just as it was starting to close.

" Sorry about that." All Might coughed out, his form back into the one of a skeleton's.

" Nah, I'm sorry Lady Tsuande and I couldn't help you with your injuries though." Sakura sighed, leaning against a wall. " We stopped the observation after we realized that the injuries were permanent even though we should've kept going."

" Come on Cherry Blossom Of The Spring, it's not your's or Tsunade's fault." All Might sadly smiled, ruffling the girl's neat hair into a mess. " Now let's see if Midoriya need any help on his injuries."

The elevator came to a stop and they made their way over to the nurse's office where Recovery Girl waited fro them. The Heroine seemed pleasantly surprised to see Sakura, and greeted the pinkette with a smile.

" I've heard much about you from Tsuande through letters. It's nice to meet you Haruno." Recovery Girl said before she turned to All Might with a stern look. " The school year has just begun and he has been here three time already! Why didn't you stop him, All Might?"

" I apologize Recovery Girl." All Might coughed once more to which the woman only let out an angry huff.

" What are you apologizing to me for?" Recovery Girl scolded. " On top of his lack of stamina, he has been here just yesterday. I've performed the simple first-aid treatment already, and once the IV finishes he'll just have to wait for the rest to heal."

" And that's why I brought Haruno with me." All Might said proudly, gesturing to the pinkette who was now standing next to Midoriya's bedside. " Go on Haruno."

Nodding in reply, Sakura placed her left hand over her right and hovered it over Midoriya's chest. Her eyes glowed blue as a sign of the usage of her Quirk, and as time went by, the scratches and the bones mended. Midoriya's slightly furrowed eyebrows relax as Sakura finished up healing him.

" Would you look at that, this might just be the next Tsunade." Recovery Girl smiled. The woman walked over to Midoriya and felt his cast, and after awhile she started to remove it. " He won't be needing any of this now. Good job Haruno."

" Thanks but he'll still have to stay in here for some time, his stamina is still low at the moment." Sakura informed, her breathing slightly heavier than before healing Midoriya.

" That's okay dear, it's not your fault someone weren't being the responsible adult they were suppose to be." The woman replied, causing All Might to scratch the back of his neck nervously and in a sheepish manner at the obvious hint. " Both of you should now be heading back now."

Agreeing, All Might held the door opened for Sakura as she said good bye to Recovery Girl. In the hallway, All might dismissed Sakura to go back and change, asking her to be quick about it as well. " Your next class should be starting right about now."

" Bye All Might!" Sakura waved, running off to the girl's changing room to which the Pro called after her to stop running.

Entering the changing room, Sakura got undressed and quickly changed into her school uniform once more. Slipping into her shoes, the pinkette walked out and made her way to her next class. She barely stepped a foot into the room when a couple of her classmates flocked around her.

" Sakura-chan, how's Deku doing?" Uraraka asked as the pinkette took her seat.

" He's fine, but he has to rest for now cause he's exhausted from using his Quirk. " Sakura reassured the brunette calmly.

Kirishima stood next the the pinkette's right, a hand on her shoulder. " That was one hell of punch you gave Bakugou over there! Nice work!"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the compliment, the punch she gave Bakugou was anything but nice, a large bruising had even started to form on the blonde's cheek. Before anyone else could make another comment, their teacher came in to start class.

* * *

" Eh? Deku?" Sakura asked when she saw the boy entering the class. Her words caused the students around her to turn to the door as well.

Half the class crowded around Midoriya, either congratulating him or praising him fro his work. Sakura however, just simply let out a small smile from the corner of her mouth. But it soon slipped away when Midoriya asked about Bakugou.

" Ah, we tried to stop him but he went home just now without saying a word." Sero replied, and just like that, Midoriya was off.

Of course Sakura got up as well and ran after the boy. Something just didn't feel right about the situation and the look she saw on Midoriya's face when he ran out. The pinkette didn't bother to use her Quirk to speed up, thinking that she would be able to catch up with Midoriya since he wasn't that fast.

She turned a corner to only see that Midoriya was already outside calling for Bakugou who had stopped to look back. Sakura stood in the doorway of the entrance, breathing heavily in and out, waiting for Midoriya to make a move.

"... My Quirk is something I got from someone else." Midoriya said, loud enough for Sakura to hear. The pinkette's eyes widened at the words and before she knew it, she had tackled Midoriya to the floor.

" Are you stupid? You can't go around saying stuff like that!" Sakura scolded, sitting on top of Midoriya's back to stop him from getting up.

" W-wait!" Midoriya shouted after Bakugou who had begun to walk away. " I know it doesn't seem real, but it's true! On top of that, I can't control it properly yet. I tried to beat you without using it, but in the end I had to rely on it."

" Deku!" Sakura warned. The only two kids who knew about All Might's condition was Midoriya and her, and there was a reason it was like that. Bakugou came first in the entrance exam, meaning he had the brain to piece together who's Quirk it was that was given to Midoriya. It was basically exposing All Might's weakness to the world.

" I've still got a long ways to go..." Midoriya continued on "... But one day I'll make this Quirk my own and beat you with it."

" Are you tying to make me look like a dunce even more than you've already have?" Bakugou asked deadly in a calm tone. " _Borrowed powers?_ Do I look stupid to you?! Today, I lost to you, that's all it was!"

Sakura looked up at Bakugou in surprise. This wasn't the exact reaction she had expected from the boy, but to be honest, she wasn't even sure she expected a reaction at all. Sakura slowly got off from Midoriya, watching Bakugou struggle with himself.

" Damn It! I even ended up agreeing with what that pony tailed girl said!" Bakugou shouted, his eyes glaring dagger despite the tears. " You too Bubblegum! I didn't expect such a fragile looking girl like you to beat me as well! But i'm just getting started! you hear me, I'm just getting started!"

" Firecracker...?" Sakura trailed off when the boy started to walk again while wiping his tears away, she figured it was best to leave him alone for the moment. Next to Sakura, Midoriya let our a long sigh to which the pinkette turned to him and blew on his face. " I said it once and i'll say it again, you're an idiot."

" There he is!" A voice shouted, and the next thing Sakura knew, a blur of bright colors swept passed her. " Young Bakugou!"

Sakura stared at the sight before her, finding that All Might had just arrived and he seemed to be giving some sort of wise advice to Bakugou. However, the boy only looked over his shoulders and glowered at the Pro to which All Might took his hands off of Bakugou's shoulders.

" Did something happen before I arrived?" All Might asked Sakura and Midoriya when Bakugou was out of sight.

The pinkette jutted her thumb at the boy next to her, giving a somewhat pained look. Midoriya once again let out a sigh before telling All Might what he had told Bakugo, and with each word, All Might's eyebrows furrowed into a deeper frown.

" I'm sorry." Midoriya said after he finished explaining. " I don't know why but I felt like I needed to tell him."

" Fortunately Young Bakugou didn't seem take it seriously according to you." All Might replied. " I'll let it go this time, but don't let this slip out again. If words somehow get out, there is the possibility that others might team up and try to take it from you. Do you understand?"

" Yes." Midoriya answered, nodding in an apologetic way to All Might and Sakura both.

" Good. Anyway, school's beginning to end, you should both get back or do you have something else to do instead?" All Might instructed.

Sakura's eyes suddenly lit up in realization. " Oh yeah! I'm heading over to a training ground that Lady Tsunade told me about, wanna go with me Deku?"

" Maybe some other time, I kind of had enough for today." Midoriya answered sheepishly, reminding Sakura of this earlier injuries during the indoor combat training in Hero Basics Training. " But thanks for the offer."

" Suit yourself." Sakura shrugged. " Then bye Deku! Bye All Might!."

As Sakura ran off waving, All Might and Midoriya returned the gestured. The pinkette raced back home and changed into some work clothes before making her way over to a training forest in a park. She had specifically rented a private time at night so she could get some fresh air in.

 _" Gotta keep working hard!"_


	7. Series I: Seven

The next day, Sakura woke up late and to rush out the door after only ten minutes. She had stayed up a bit last night, and when she had came home from the park, the time was already ten o'clock. Groaning, Sakura made her way to U.A. however, just as the school came into view, at the base was a large crowd of reporters.

" Ah! Miss, can you give us a few words about All Might?" A young woman asked the pinkette.

" Uh..er..I'm sorry but I have to get to class, I'm already late. Can you please step aside, you're blocking the gate." Sakura said apologetically.

Despite her request, a few of the reporters continued to press Sakura about All Might to the point the pinkette felt like she was suffocating from the lack of space around her. She shoved passed them desperately, her one goal to make it to class on time. After a few minutes, the pinkette broke free from the crowd.

" Sakura?" Midoriya's muffled voice came from between a reporter and the school's gate wall. " Help?"

Frantically Sakura pulled on the arm that was reaching out to her fro help, succeeding after a few tugs. The pinkette gave a weak smiled at the boy to which he returned an identical one with a hint of an expecting gleam.

" That's sure some ruckus, but considering it's about All Might, it's not that big." Midoriya commented.

" All right, to every student still out here, get to class." Aizawa said, appearing next to Sakura. " And for all you reporters, All Might isn't on duty today, please leave."

The same reported who stopped Sakura stepped forward. " W-wait! Please, can you give us some words about The Symbol Of Peace's teaching?"

Sakura turned her back to the gate and walked away alongside with Midoriya and Aizawa. However, just as they reached the doors, the security for the school'd gate was activated, drawing Sakura's attention to the gates once more.

" Eh? Did that reporter lady try to get in?" Sakura mused to herself as she focus once more on getting to class.

Beside her, Midoriya resulted to his notebook as they stepped into the classroom. " As expected of U.A. If anyone who tries to get in without a student ID or a pass, the school's security kicks in! The whole building has sensors!"

Because she had entered the classroom with Aizawa, she was considered on time. Sakura couldn't help but be slightly grateful for the crowd earlier, their's yelling had drawn out Aizawa to which gave students more time to get to class, or in Sakura's case, to step into class at the exact time.

" Sakura-chan, did you and Deku get held up by the crowd as well?" Uraraka asked, walking over to the two. " Goodness, it's been two days already, when are they going to give up? I'm just glad you guys are on time."

" Okay, everyone settle down." Aizawa instructed, organizing his papers. " To start today off, congratulation on yesterday's combat training, I saw the videos and results about everyone's match yesterday. Bakugou, quit acting like a kid even if you do have the talent. Midoriya, you went and broke your arm again huh? Get it under control and you'll do better. And Haruno? Good work on deciding to not use you strength to the max, but that doesn't mean you can step back from the main battle, understood?"

" Yes." Sakura said, slumping into her chair.

Aizawa let out a long sigh as his eyes glazed over his class. " Well then, now that that's out of the way, lets move on to homeroom business. I should've asked for this yesterday, sorry about that. Anyway, today I'll be having you decide on a class representative."

The whole class let out a sigh of relief, all thinking Aizawa was pulling out yet another one of his test. However, before Sakura knew it, everyone was volunteering for the spot of class representative, including herself.

" Pick me!" Kirishima shouted, raising his hand the highest.

Sakura jumped out from her seat, her own hand held up while her face displayed a wide grin. " Me too! I want to try out for class rep as well!"

With all the commotion going on, Iida found a way to silence everyone by shouting for silence. He let out a cough when everyone stared at him after his out burst, but Iida soon got to the point with Aizawa who had begun to slip into his sleeping bag once more.

" Sir, will it be alright to do an election to choose?" Iida asked the Pro.

The man shrugged his shoulder before plopping down into the ground. " I don't really care what you do."

Sakura frowned a the idea. The whole class, minus Midoriya and her had only known each other for a couple of days. The pinkette had no idea who to decide on when she was passed a slip of paper. There was Yaoyorozu who seemed the most capable, but Todoroki didn't seem like a bad idea either considering his calm demeanor.

But there was another person that came to Sakura's mind. Someone who seemed the least likeliest to even get a vote. Quickly Sakura wrote down the name, adding a curve as usual to her B.

The pinkette folded her paper and placed it into the slot box with everyone else's. Once everyone's was in, Iida took them all out and tallied out the points. In total, only four students made the cut, one having only one vote.

" Who voted for Deku!? I'll kill you!" Bakugou shouted, unhappy with his only vote.

" Better than voting for you." Sero muttered under his breathe, his mouth tugging upward into a grin. " So Haruno got two points, Yaoyorozu two, and Midoriya three."

Asui placed a finger to her cheek in a thinking gesture. " Both Haruno and Yaoyorozu got two votes. Do they have to share the position or is there some other way to determine a deputy class rep? Iida?"

" Huh?" The boy snapped out of his trance and faced the board. His voice drooped a bit as he spoke. " Oh, I guess they can decide on that."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, getting up to go to lunch. " I don't like getting into a tie, it means others couldn't decide which was better. Yaoyorozu can be deputy class rep, the value of it had gone down anyway. I'm going to lunch now."

Sakura stepped out and was soon followed by Kirishima and the rest of the class. The red haired boy swung his arm around Sakura's neck, grinning as if the were old pal. " That was really manly of you, being the better man by deciding to with draw! But I guess that's kind off like quitting as well."

Sakura let out a snort, ignoring the arm draped around her shoulders. " Please, I didn't quit in any way possible. Quitting are for losers. I say it was more like I knew what I wanted, and it just so happened that it was no longer the spot for deputy class rep or class rep itself."

" Oi look, it's that Bakugou guy. Let's invite him to sit with us." Kirishima smiled despite the fact that Sakura hadn't made any plans to even sit with him yet. " Bakugou, where are you going mate? Care to join us?"

Bakugou scowled at them as he got in line for lunch. Dragged by Kirishima, Sakura followed him. One hand occupied with her tray, the other was being held by the wrist. She let out a sigh as she sat down next to Kirishima while Bakugou sat in front of her.

" What are you two doing here?!" Bakugou sneered. " Wow Bubblegum, didn't take you as the stalker type."

" This stalker just so happened try to get you to be class rep." Sakura hummed, a tiny smile on her face. " Beside, it was Kirishima who followed you, I just so happened to get dragged into it as well."

Bakugou looked mildly taken back. " Well I didn't asked you to vote for me!"

" Admit dude, you're slightly happy that you even got a vote." Kirishima laughed through a mouthful of food. " How about a thank you for Sakura here?"

The pinkette decided to join in, taking pleasure at the look of bubbling anger in Bakugou's face. However, just as Bakugou was about to burst, the sound of an alarm started to go off in all of the speakers in the lunch room. Surprise, Sakura stood up.

" There has been a level three security breach, students, please evacuate out the school immediately." The intercom announced.

Sakura was soon swept out of the Eatery by the rushing students that went passed her. Confused on where she was heading and where she was even at, the pinkette plopped onto the ground as her head started to get dizzy from all the shouting and rough pushing.

After awhile she got back up and started to push through her way out. Left and right, Sakura got slammed into different people, each time mumbling an apology to everyone. At some point someone twice the size of her bumped into her, sending the girl to floor.

No one slowed down when Sakura fell, instead they all seem even more determine to get out by any means possible. Suddenly, Sakura was being lifted up by the scuff of her school uniform. And surprisingly she was met by a pair of smug red eyes.

" This is my thanks to you. Be grateful, okay Bubblegum?" Bakugou smirked, still holding Sakura up with one hand while the other was stuffed into his pant's pocket.

" Hey! This isn't even a proper Thank you!" Sakura huffed as she was put down. " But I suppose this is good enough coming from you."

As Bakugou started to spark anyone who was too close, Sakura shouted for everyone to slow down. But all of her attempts ended in a fail, either she was told to move or everyone ignored what she had asked for.

" This isn't working." Sakura sang through gritted teeth in an annoyed tone. " Everyone slow down!"

Before she could say another word, something above her swept passed the students. Sakura's eyes travel to the exit door where Iida was now balancing on top of. His glasses seemed to be loss somewhere, but that didn't stop him from explaining what was going on.

" Everyone, calm down! It's only the media, there is no need to continue to panic!" Iida shouted, and soon, the pushing decreased into a slow walk.

Everyone walked back to class in group, all talking about the event that took place only minutes ago. When everyone from Class-A got settled down into their seats, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu stood at the front, Midoriya having something to say about his position.

" I would like to give up my spot as class rep and hand over the duty to Iida." Midoriya declared, surprising the class. " He stayed calm and when he figured out what was going on, he alerted the students in a way he knew would work."

" That's not such a bad idea." Asui said, and once by one, the whole class begun to warm up to the idea.

From the ground, Aizawa drew everyone's attention to him by getting up. " You're wasting time, just hurry up and accept Iida."

" Yes sir!" Iida shouted, taking on the role without hesitation. " I won't disappoint anyone of you. You all trust be with this role and I'll work my best to not let you guys down!"

Sakura let out a hum in approval at his words. For the rest of that day, everything went along smoothly. By the end of the day, Sakura was worn out from the excitement of evacuating and was more than happy to take a warm bath.

Drying off, the pinkette realized that she had rented another night at the park. It was a waste of money not to go after spending a hundred dollars for a couple of nights at the park. Mentally taking a note to just exercise in her backyard next time, Sakura got dressed in a sweater and sweatpants.

Running over to the park, Sakura had warm up her body against the cold night. She showed the person on night patrol her ID and he excused her to go onto her business. At night, the park was a restricted area that only a couple of people could come to if they had rent it for awhile.

And if Sakura was correct, she should be the only one at the park at this time of day. However, this night, there was a man sitting still on a bench in the park's forest. Confused, the pinkette approached the man.

" Excuse me, sir?" Sakura gingerly asked. " Hello, I didn't know someone else was going to be here today as well. My name is Sakura Haruno, pleasure to meet you."

" Ah." The man pulled up his hoodie, hiding his face from being fully reveal. " I shouldn't be here...no... _you_ shouldn't be here."

Sakura waved her hands in front of her in a surprise gesture. " No no, it's okay for you to be here. I think they got our times messed up, I had directly asked for no one else but me to be here a this time of the day for this week. You see, i'm a student at U.A. and I'm trying to work hard to become a hero."

" You want to be a hero?" The man asked, a sort of disgust in his every word. " How stupid."

Sakura shook her head, a sad smile on her face. " It's really not. I'm sorry you think that way though...You know what? I promise to become a hero that even you'll like. I don't know what caused you to dislike heroes, but i'm going to try to change that. Remember my name, you'll see me everywhere once I become a Pro!"

" I suppose what you're saying is that you have a strong Quirk. Well I'm going now, your talk of heroes is making me nauseous." The man said, getting up and walking away, leaving Sakura to stare at his back.

The man heard the pinkette give a long sigh from behind him, but what really stopped him for awhile were her next words. " No, my Quirk isn't strong. At least not unless it has a purpose to be."

Not wanting to show his interest, the man continued on to walk away. He didn't once stop or look back again, not wanting to kill the girl who had spark slight interest in him. She was a bit weird, saying she was going to become a Pro but also saying she didn't have a strong Quirk.

The man started to claw at his neck, regretting not turning around and killing the girl on the spot. " Damn it, damnit, damn it. Why didn't I kill her!?"

* * *

The next day, any thoughts of the strange man from the park had vanish from Sakura's mind and it was instead focused on what Aizawa had just told the class. Apparently they were going to do some rescue training off campus with two other teachers beside Aizawa.

" You can either change into your costume or meet me at the bus first, that's all." Aizawa said, exiting the class already. " Start getting ready."

All excited, Sakura left with Uraraka to the changing room. Ten minutes later they met up with everyone else at the bus. Seeing Midoriya, the pinkette jogged over to the boy along with Uraraka who was the first to ask of why Midoriya was wearing his P.E. uniform.

" Oh, they got torn up so i'm waiting for the support company to fix it up for me." Midoriya answered.

" Everyone listen up! Form to lines according to you number and enter the bus in an orderly fashion!" Iia announced, fulfilling his role as the class rep.

However, the bus wasn't exactly as how Iida thought it was going to be, so instead of rows, most students were sitting next to each other in two long seat bench. Sakura ended up with Yaoyorozu in one of the tinier rows because Yaoyorozu was number twenty and the pinkette was number twenty-one.

" I don't think we've properly have met." Sakura smiled at the girl beside her. " Sakura Haruno."

" Pleasure to meet you Haruno, I'm Momo Yaoyorozu." Yaoyorozu replied, returning the soft smile. " Thank you for giving me the role as deputy class rep, but in all honesty, you didn't really have to. I'm grateful nevertheless."

Sakura didn't say anything and instead stared slightly surprise at the taller girl. Getting flustered, Yaoyorozu tried to apologize incase she had offended the pinkette in any way by sound the least bit ungrateful.

" It's not that." Sakura grinned, stopping the girl. " It's just you're really pretty. Oh and you sound like one of those poised and classy girls I often see on television! Not to mention you're super smart, I mean you were the only one who knew right away that Aizawa's test was a fluke."

" Ah, thank you." Yaoyorozu smiled, her face slightly red from all the compliments. " You yourself is really strong when it comes to combat and your Quirks are grandiose."

" My Quirks? What do you mean, I only have one Quirk." Sakura asked confused, but she soon realized how her healing ability and her inhuman strength might appeared like two different ones to others since she had never told anyone from her class what her Quirk really was. " Oh! Wait, let me explain-"

Before Sakura could explain though, the bus came to a stop and Aizawa signaled for everyone to get out. One by one, everyone stared in awe at the U.S.J. and everyone stared in even more awe when they saw Thirteen waiting for them.

" Well then, without another delay, shall we go in?" Thirteen said, guiding the class over to the entrance of the U.S.J.

Sakura entered the structure and her jaw dropped along with everyone else's. This was the ideal training ground, completed with all sort of disasters that Class-A may face in the future. The pinkette and Uraraka high-fived each other, both bubbling with excitement.

" Where's All Might? He was suppose to meet us here." Aizawa said, stepping forward. He nodded in reply though when Thirteen held up three fingers, a gesture of importance Sakura figured.

" Before we begin, let me say one...er..or two, three? No five, no I mean seven..." Thirteen's increasing of things to say got the whole class to give off an awkward aura. " I' sure you are all aware of my Quirk, Black Hole. I can suck up anything and turn it into dust."

" Of course! You've used it to save thousands of lives from disaster!" Midoriya answered excitedly.

" Yes but it is also a power that can easily kill as well." Thirteen's word caused the class to stare at her in a questioning way. " Some of you have a Quirk as similar. You often see heroes protecting people with their Quirk, but some have one that can kill with one single wrong step."

Sakura nodded along to what Thirteen had to say, finding that the Pro's words were wise as expected of someone with experience. Thirteen, finishing up explaining all that was needed to know for today took a bow to which the class started to applause for the speech.

" All right then-" Before Aizawa could finish what he was going to say, the power went out, causing everyone to look up at the power lights. However, everyone's attention went to the front after a whirl of purple appeared. And when a head poked out, Aizawa was the first to move. " Stay together and don't move!"

" What's going on?" Sero asked, voicing everyone's question. Sakura and a few students took a step forward, but they soon stopped when Aizawa waved his arm in front of them.

" Don't move!" Aizawa demanded, his once laidback tone was no longer a drawl. " These are real villains you understand?! This is a real event!"

Sakura took a step back and everyone followed her action. This wasn't practice, nor was it a test. This was the real deal and Sakura had no idea what she was suppose to do. Fight or stay still like how Aizawa had requested?


	8. Series I: Eight

Standing in front of Sakura, Aizawa placed his goggles on, shielding his eyes. Sakura sucked in a deep breath, calming her nerves as she did so. If worst came to worst, they were going to have to fight. The pinkette just couldn't afford to be scare at such a crucial time.

" The trespassing the other day was done by these scumbags, huh?" Aizawa commented, ready to charge in.

As more and more villains poured out of the purple swirl, Sakura's attention was diverted to the man standing still up front. Hands covered his shoulders, arms, and a lone on covered his face. Something about him seemed familiar to the pinkette.

" All Might...The Symbol of Peace..." The blue haired man said, loud enough for the students of Class 1-A to hear. " Where is he? I even went through the trouble to bring these people with me. I wonder if he'll show up if we kill some kids."

" That voice..." Sakura whispered, and soon, her hand covered her mouth in shock. She fell down into a crouch, her hands now clutching at her head in dismay and realization. The voice belonged to none other then the man she had met last night. " I could've die last night!"

Next to the girl, Uraraka gave her a questioning look to which Sakura slowly got up and shook her head, giving a sheepish smile all the while even though the circumstances at the moment was anything but bashful. After giving a sigh, Sakura looked up, surprised to see Aizawa's scarf in a defensive position of warning.

" How did this happen?" Sakura whispered to herself. " Teacher, did something happen to the security sensors?"

" I'm not sure." Thirteen answered. " They must have a Quirk with them that's messing with the sensors. Stay back children, this is dangerous!"

Aizawa started to walk toward the advancing villains, surprising Sakura. " Thirteen, watch the students. And try calling the school, to be able to mess up U.A.'s security means they have some powerful Quirks in their hands."

" Wait! Mr. Aizawa are you going to go in by yourself?" Sakura protested. " That'll be one against too many! You can't go in by yourself!"

Aizawa let out a sigh as if he had seem to grow tired already before even entering in battle. " You can't be a hero with only one trick." And with that said, the man jumped past the stairs and into battle. With swift movement, Aizawa captured three villains with his scarf and bashed their heads together. All doubts within Sakura disappeared as her teacher continued to fight. There was a reason Aizawa made it to becoming a Pro Hero.

" I see, with his goggles on, they can't tell whose Quirk he's erasing." Kaminari said as the rest of the class started to run to the door that they had came through.

However, before they were even close to the door, a mass of purple appeared before them. It started out as a simple patch on the ground, but it soon started to rise into the air, looming over Thirteen and Class A. Casting a fearful shadow over some of the students as well.

" I can't let you go." The purple mass said, his yellow eyes glinting eerily. His tone was pleasant, not one truly belonging to a villain. " Nice to meet you, we are the League Of Villains. We invited ourself in, in order to have All Might, The Symbol of peace, take his last breath. And I do believe that he should of have been here with you."

Sakura clenched her fist, getting ready to attack, however she stayed still when she saw Thirteen uncap one of the gloved finger that covered Black Hole. For now, she should allow the Pros to handle the situaton. However, it seemed just like her, Bakugou and Kirishima wanted to attack, but unlike her, they didn't notice Thirteen's action and instead did charge in.

From Bakugou's attack, smoke exploded out and layered around, covering Sakura's field of vision. Swiping her arm in front of her, Sakura was able to see Thirteen ready to use Black Hole to it's advantage. However, with the number of students crowded around, Thirteen's action was hesitant.

" That's dangerous children." The purple mass said calmly while Thirteen debating what to do with the situation. " But of course it' only expected, you're all excellent golden eggs. That's why i'm here to scatter you and torture you all to death!"

And as if on cue, the purple mass started to harshly spread out, curling itself around the students. Once again, Sakura couldn't see a single thing or know what to do except for the fact that she had to cover her eyes against the purple Warp Gate's mass.

The pinkette opened her eyes when she felt the wind dying down to only find herself falling from the sky and into the depth of water. Swimming around to see if there was anyone else in the zone, Sakura saw a flicker of movement to her side. But when she turned to see what it was, no one could be seen or heard.

Finding something not right with the situation, the girl started to swim up to the surface due to her lack of oxygen, as well as for the nagging uneasy feeling. That was until a man with an eel tail started to charge at her, and Sakura suddenly felt the electricity building up around in the water.

Her mind quickly went to the training with All might for the entrance exam and the pinkette clenched her fist, her Quirk building up enchanted strength in her muscles, and fighting against the density of the water, Sakura pushed her fist forward.

The result included a tunnel of water that went in the opposite direction like a drill, its one goal to collide into the eel villain. And when it crashed into the villain, the sense of electricity vanished. The attack created ripple of water powerful to the point it created roaring waves on the surface. And that was exactly what caught the attention of more underwater villains.

Suddenly, just as more villains started to show up, Sakura felt something wrap around her waist and the next thing she knew, she was flung out of the water and onto solid ground. Shock at what had happened, Sakura took the time getting back onto her feet.

" Sakura!" Midoriya's voice came from the girl's left. " Are you okay?"

The girl nodded in reply, coughing out some water that had enter when she was abruptly tossed out of the water. " Yeah. Where are the others?"

" I think we were all tossed into -ribbit- different zones." Asui answered, her tongue releasing the hold on Sakura. " Sakura-chan, right? Call me Tsu, although I do -ribbit- suppose this isn't the time to make friendly conversation."

Off to the side, Midoriya started to furrow his eyebrows in concentration as he stared passed the field of water. " This has turn into a bad situation. I can't help but remember what that villain had said earlier about All Might, they seem to be well inform about U.A.'s schedule."

" Exactly." Sakura said, pacing around anxiously, her hand on her chin in a thinking position. " About the other day, with all the press's sudden access to pass through the security, this event gives a whole bigger picture about what may have actually happen."

Mineta jumped up and down, trying to get the other three student's attention since he was the shortest of all. " But it's All Might they're after! No way could they beat All Might, he'll pound them to dust when he gets here!"

" But don't you think the reason they're trying so hard is because they really do have a way to defeat All Might?" Asui mused, and Sakura's eyes widened slightly at the conclusion. " I wonder how long we'll hold out until All Might does come though."

" H-Haruno! Midoriya! What is that?" Mineta cried out, pointing at the movements in the water.

Swimming at a fast pace toward the ship the students were on, the heads of villains showed up, doubling in size every time Sakura thought there was too many. What surprised the pinkette most was when she heard her name coming out of their mouth. Their tone was almost excited.

" That's her! The girl Shigaraki told us to keep an eye out for!"

" What a puny thing she is, are you sure?"

" Pink hair and green eyes, of course it's her you idiots, who else can it be? That purple thing next to her?"

Midoriya turned to face Sakura, his eyes questioning. " How do they know you and who's Shigaraki? Have you met him before, Sakura?"

The pinkette shook her head, a worried expression on her face when the villains drew in closer to them. " I think the man I had met yesterday is the same one as the one they're calling Shigaraki. I had no idea who he was, I just took him as someone who had a bad history with Heroes, not an actual villain to top it off."

" But why All Might -ribbit- alone? Because he's the Symbol of Peace? There -ribbit- must be a reason they're targeting All Might specifically." Asiu said, peering over the edge to get a better look at what they were dealing with.

Once again, Mineta tried to catch their attention, having something of his own to say. " They'll never beat him though! He _is_ All Might you know!"

" He's also human!" Sakura snapped at the boy, her anger getting the better of her. She just couldn't stop thinking about what the villains may have up their sleeves that they were so confident they could take on All Might, the number one hero. It didn't help that All Might had grown a bit weaker since he pushed his limits far too much. " The fight that's in front of us right now, we're going to have to win it!"

" What do you mean!? Fight?! Are you crazy?!" Mineta screeched, far more worried about having to fight than the pinkette's temper. " They might kill All Might! The best plan is to sit still and wait for the Pros to come and handle it!"

" Something just doesn't add up. They all seem well informed, but why would they but Asui-" Midoriya turned flustered to which Asui assure him it was okay. " in the shipwreck zone where she is most powerful at considering her Quirk."

" There's the possibility they have no clue what our Quirks may be." Sakura observed.

Asui nodded along, getting the idea. " That's true, if they had -ribbit- known what my Quirk was, they -ribbit- would of have put me in the fire zone instead."

" We're greatly outnumbered and we lack experience," Midoriya said. " And our only hope is the fact that they don't know what our Quirks are. They're not climbing onto the ship because they're being cautious of us. We'll have to use that to it's full advantage."

" I'll tell you more about my Quirk. " Asui offered, starting to list her abilities. " I can jump really high, stick to walls, and my tongue can stick out about twenty meters out. Plus I can spit my stomach out and wash it and create toxic mucus that only slightly stings."

" I basically have super strength, but once I use it I'm pretty much out of commission because my bones would be broken." Midoriya explained, glancing down on his hands as if debating when and where to use One For All. " Sakura's here as well, meaning she can patch me up afterwards. The only problem is, she can't heal me in the heat of the moment."

Mentally the pinkette noted about having to advance her Healing Quirk more so she could heal others despite the distance or situation. " I want to say for you to go all out and for me to heal you after we get away, but that doesn't seem like a good idea."

" My Quirk lets these stick really tight." Mineta said, referring to the round ball he had plucked from his head. " But if I pull out too many, I'll start to bleed."

Sakura stayed silent, waiting for more information, but when none came, she let out a sigh. " That's all?"

" Well sorry I don't have a flashy Quirk like yours!" Mineta cried. " That's right, I saw you during the entrance exam. You took down the fourth bot easily!"

" I wasn't born with a flashy Quirk you dunce." Sakura rolled her eyes. " I don't have time to explain so lets cut it short. I have inhuman strength and the ability to heal myself and others. But the later isn't as developed as the former, so I'm going to have to preserve it until needed."

Suddenly, a hand made out of water smacked onto the boat, causing Sakura to lose her balance and slam into the wall. Steading herself, Sakura felt the boat beginning to gradually sink after being broken into two parts. Out of fright, Mineta started to throw his ball hair at the villains.

" Wait! They might find out about your Quirk!" Midoriya called after the boy, reaching out to stop him from throwing anymore. But when Midoriya saw the villain's reaction, he observed them closer. " They're avoiding them."

" The ship will sink in less than a minute, and once they're in, we'll win for sure!" Came the rasping voice of a villain.

Mineta scooted back, out of the sight of the villains at those words. " T-that's true! They're totally right about it, we are all going to die before even becoming Pro Heroes!"

" Mineta, did you really come to U.A. to become a hero?" Asui asked crouching down next to Sakura and Midoriya, obliviously of the fact she was taking a strike at Mineta's pride, but at the moment, the said boy didn't even care about those words.

" Shut up! It's even weirder to not be scare about this situation!" Mineta shouted, tears running down his cheek as he continues to ramble on.

Sakura, having enough of Mineta's complaints turned over to Midoriya who seemed deeply lost in his own thoughts. " What do you think Deku? About this whole event really. Are you scared? I hate to admit it, but I really was at the beginning."

" Now that you mention it, I'm only now realizing how scared I was at the time when they showed up." Midoriya said, his voice low to the point it was almost a mumble. " But now's not the time to be scared...there's only one thing for me I can do at the moment right now. Sakura, take on the south region of the water, I'll take north!"

Without another word, Midoriya dived into the waters and Sakura did as she was instructed to do since she didn't have any better plan in mind. Running to the other side of the ship, Sakura got ready to plunge into the water.

She entered with a slash and the villains on her side wasted no time. All at once they charged at her, some holding weapons while others had body parts similar to water animals. And all at once Sakura took them head on, her movement in the water as smooth and sharp as those on land.

The first one to reach her had a trident in his hand, and before the villain had the time to pierce Sakura, the girl grabbed the weapon by the neck and snapped it into two. Holding on to the sharp pointed side, the pinkette waved it around as a warning.

But of course some still dared try to attack her. Quickly Sakura swam over to under the boat, not to get away but to create an attack that could take out all the villains at once. When she got to her destination, Sakura pierced the bottom of the half boat with her fingers, her eyes glowing green. It was now or never in her case.

Sending her Quirk not just to her hands but also throughout her whole body, Sakura waved the boat around in circle, creating a sort of tornado underwater. Suddenly, she felt powerful waves washing over her, and quickly she decided that she needed to get out.

Fingers still dug into the bottom of the boat, Sakura clutched it even tighter and cracks started to descend out and around the boat. By the time her hand had form a tight fist, the boat had broken into large chunks and where now falling to the water in rapid speed due to Midoriya's attack from the surface.

Quickly, while the villains were busy trying to not get crush and at the same time trying to not get suck into the water tornado, Sakura swam out to the surface. Using a piece of the boat as a sort of a raft base, Sakura took off from the debris.

" Tsu! Midoriya!" Sakura called out loudly, trying to locate them while in mid-air. " Mineta?"

Quickly she was wrapped around in Asui's tongue once more, Midoriya squeezed next to her. And swiftly they jumped out of the shipwreck zone and away from the villains who were all stuck together since Mineta had thrown his hair balls at them, which had become somewhat useful in this situation.

Sakura stared at her handy work, pleased with the results. The only problem was, she had no idea about the deeper trouble she was going to get in.


	9. Series I: Nine

Once the water had settled down, Asui landed with a splash, releasing her hold on Sakura, Midoriya and Mineta. Slowly the four students waddled walked out of the water, Midoriya wincing as he caressed his broken fingers. Finally reaching dry land, Sakura sat down while her legs continued to be dipped into water.

" Come here Deku, I'll heal that for you before we move on." Sakura said, reaching for the boy's hand. Carefully taking Midoriya's hand into her's, Sakura's eyes glowed a soft blue and gradually, Midoriya was able to move his fingers again with ease. " There, that should do it."

" Thanks Sakura." Midoriya said, smiling softly. " Anyway, I believe it's best if we follow the shore and avoid the central plaza as we head toward the exit."

Next to Sakura, Asui nodded along to the reason. " That's true -ribbit- Mr. Aizawa is probably still at the plaza fighting the villains. It's best to avoid -ribbit- interfering with his battle so we don't mess up his concentration."

At those words, Sakura shook her head, a frown on her face. " To be honest, I'm kind of worried for Mr. Aizawa. I mean, he is going up against over twenty villains while there's only one of him. He's probably exhausted as well, there's only so much a Pro can handle at a time."

" My thoughts exactly..." Midoriya trailed off, leaving the others to figure out what his full sentence was even though they all had a clear idea of what it was.

" W-wait! You're not thinking of...Don't be stupid Midoriya!" Mineta shouted, the bleeding from his head coming to a stop. " Haruno, come on. Tell him you were only joking, we can't possibly go in to help Mr. Aizawa!"

The pinkette turned her head over to the side, not wanting the expression that Mineta dreaded to be seen. Of course she wanted to help her homeroom teacher, if anything, that was what she wanted to do most at the moment. To lesson the burden on Aizawa, the teacher who had rushed in to protect his students.

Mineta on the other hand, feared for his life far more than anything. " You're both crazy!"

" That's not exactly what I have in mind." Midoriya replied. " I don't want to directly get involve, maybe just try to find a sort of opening that may help Mr. Aizawa."

" Then lets get going!" Sakura cheered, already trudging on ahead while Asui was right behind her. Sakura, Midoriya, Asui and Mineta made their way over to the plaza with careful step as to not make any noise in the water. The shortest way to get to Aizawa's fight up close was the water route.

Trying to keep up with everyone else, Mineta glumly floated nearby. " Only a tiny check up right? We'll run away once it get dangerous, right? Answer me please, Haruno."

Sakura didn't answer and instead stare in admiration at the fight displayed before her. Left and right, Aizawa went flying, fighting villains of different shapes and size, some even triple his size. Sakura couldn't help but let her respect for Aizawa grow.

" The last boss?" Aizawa questioned loud enough for Sakura to hear as Shigaraki went charging at him. Next to each other, both Aizawa and Shigaraki seemed on par. The only problem was that they had no idea what kind of Quirk the villain may have to use against Aizawa.

The blue haired villain grabbed ahold of Aizawa's capture weapon, to which the Pro yanked on it roughly, bringing Shigaraki toward him unexpectedly. Sakura begun to smile, figuring that Aizawa won the match, however, her eyes landed on Aizawa's elbow which Shigaraki was tightly clutching.

Aizawa's hair suddenly fell down, indicating that his Quirk had stop for an instant. Using it to his advantage, what seemed to be Shigaraki's Quirk quickly decayed Aizawa's elbow. Sakura's smile quickly fell and was replaced with a look of horror. Next to her, Midoriya let out a gasp as Aizawa jumped away from the villain.

And even then, despite his skin crumbling to the ground, Aizawa still had to fight against the other surrounding villains. The pinkette narrowed her eyebrows when she noticed how the pro was slower than normal, his wound slowing him down to a disadvantage.

" That Quirk of yours, it's not built to last long against a large number of villains, is it?" Shigaraki said, his raspy voice tuned eerily. " So why'd you do it, why did you jump in to fight us? To put your dear students as ease? You're so cool!"

Shigaraki suddenly paused, as if there was something distracting him from going on. From her view, Sakura got a full view of the villain's smile as he pointed to something behind Aizawa. " By the way, I think you'll like to know that I'm not the last boss."

Sakura stood up abruptly, her eyes widened in a look of dread. Behind her teacher stood a creature with a body as built as All Might, and with a swift movement, the beast had clawed at Aizawa's face, causing it bleed heavily.

" This, hero, is the anti-Symbol of Peace, Nomu." Shigaraki introduced, and as if on cue, the monster let out a screech. " Admit defeat Eraser Head. Besides, this overwhelming power makes you feel almost Quirkless, doesn't it?"

Sakura clenched her fist, and her body trembled in fear when she saw Nomu crushing Aizawa's arm. Suddenly, Kurogiri appeared Shigaraki, informing the villain about something that caused him to nervously scratch his neck obsessively.

" Kurogiri, I would crush you right now if you weren't a warp gate!" Shigaraki shouted, but he got quiet before talking again in a calmer tone. " Fine, if you couldn't handle a few students, why don't you take care of one girl for me? Sakura Haruno's over there, transport her to Nomu's fighting range."

Surprise that Shigaraki knew where she was, Sakura didn't react fast enough as a patch of swirling purple appeared under her. However, being through this for the second time, Sakura reposition her stance so she landed on her feet after falling from the sky, a crater forming from the impact.

" Go on Sakura Haruno, show your desperation to survive your fate." Shigaraki said just as Nomu got up after smashing Aizawa's face into the ground one more time. " If you die, that's too bad, I was starting to like you."

But the pinkette wasn't hearing anything around her, instead, all she could hear was the roaring fear inside of her head. Standing in front of her, fist as big as Sakura's own head, stood a monster who defeated a pro in less than a minute. The girl didn't know what to do, but found herself in the strangest of relief when Nomu attacked first.

Quickly, Sakura avoided the fist aiming for her head, and countered attack by swinging her leg at Nomu's neck in a high kick. The kick caused Nomu to dig his heel into the ground, creating a crater in the process, stopping him from crashing into the fountain.

" Deku, listen to me." Sakura said, her voice slightly quivering. Her eyes never left her opponent, being afraid of the next attack. " Take Mr. Aizawa away from here. I'll be able to hold Nomu off for few minutes, so get away as far as you can, okay? Please, for once don't act like the hero you are. Please."

" Look who's talking. I can't just leave you Sakura!" Midoriya shouted, his fist clenched at his side.

Sakura turned her head over to her friends, and despite the clear sign of fright in her eyes, she gave them a smile. " Don't worry Deku. I'm not going to let my dream of becoming a Hero die today."

Suddenly the pinkette was sent skidding along the ground, and when she came to a halt, she slowly got up again. Her eyes glowed blue and the bleeding coming from her mouth stopped just as her bruises disappeared at the same time.

" Come on Midoriya, let's do as she says." Mineta said, tugging on the boy's hand over to Aizawa. " If she wants to die than fine, but I don't want to."

Sakura on the other hand, was once more fighting against Nomu, fists colliding with each other. She didn't know what exactly she was doing but what she did know was that each punch she gave Nomu should've broken all of his bones by now. Instead, Nomu only seemed to be getting stronger.

At some point, the pinkette couldn't dodge a blow to her stomach and fell to her knees, coughing out in the sound of a hack, and blood soon following suited. Looming over her, with his fingers intertwine into a tight fist, Nomu was just about ready to bring it down onto the pinkette's back.

Wincing, Sakura turned to her left to check if Midoriya had left with Aizawa yet, and to her relief, he had. It only took a second to check, but that was enough time for Nomu to bring his intertwine fist down on the girl's back. Screaming out in agony, Sakura slowly begun to heal her body once more, her body trembling even more.

The only problem was that using her healing Quirk had caused Sakura to grow extremely tired. But, with determination, she was able to roll out of the way just in time of another attack. Nimbly the pinkette got on her feet in a fighting stance, her breathing uneven and heavy.

" Do you regret not running away with your little friends?" Shigaraki asked from the right. " Join me little hero, and you can have the world. You can grow stronger without the help of U.A. Say yes and i'll call off Nomu."

Sakura didn't answer, and only spare the villain a glance from the corner of her eye for a split second. The rest of the second she charged in, her fist pulled back. However, when she was closed enough to Nomu, instead of punching the creature, the pinkette ducked. She knew full well the moment she charged in that Nomu was going to somehow counter the punch with one of his own.

So she made a second step to her plan. Nomu's fist swept passed the girl from above while she went for his abdomen. With all of her Quirk pumped into her clenched fist, Sakura smashed her fist into Nomu's exposed stomach.

But instead of getting blown back from the impact, Nomu only let out a screeched as if he was laughing. Sakura stared in horror as if she had become frozen as she watched Nomu's leg lift up for a kick. And before she knew it, Sakura went flying back, and as her speed decreased, she collied onto the ground.

The pinkette coughed out blood as she laid still on the ground. She was too exhausted to heal herself, let alone continue to fight. But still, she slowly got up because she knew deep down, she might die if she didn't.

" Why do you continue to fight?" Shigaraki asked, his raspy voice in a high pitch.

This time, Sakura couldn't help but answer. " I made a promise to Deku. I'm not going to die, not now at least. And most definitely not by the hands of a villain."

Her answer had come out more of a cough than a sentence, but Nomu seemed to get the idea. And just to spite her, the creature lumbered over to her, and grabbed her into his fist. Sakura thrashed and kick, feeling herself lose conscious as Nomu gripped her tightly her.

However, the girl was soon tossed to the ground. Blood trickled down Sakura's forehead and onto the ground. Her hair was sprawled all around her in a messy halo. And worse of all, Sakura couldn't get up from the ground. She was just too exhausted.

" Break her legs Nomu. From what I've observe, she gets exhausted after using her Quirk to heal. Leave it as a reminder to All Might when he gets here." Shigaraki said, a sort of creepy grin adorn on his face. " All Might, The Symbol of Peace will be brought down by the League of Villains."

" No, no, no!" Sakura screamed. She let out a loud cry of pain as Nomu brought his massive hand on her legs repeatedly. " Stop! Stop!"

Tears of pain swelled up in the pinkette's eyes and they soon rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't feel her legs beside the unbearable pain, meaning that they really were broken. She couldn't heal herself either. The pinkette was past her limits and her stamina had disappeared.

Suddenly, Nomu roughly clenched at Sakura's hair and lifted her up in the air. The girl clenched her jaw, not wanting to give in to the pain anymore. She didn't want Shigaraki to feel the satisfaction of seeing her in torment.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, and she sniffed back her tears which was the only thing she could properly do for the time. She couldn't do anything about the pain coming from Nomu holding her up from her hair. She could't heal her legs at the moment. She couldn't do anything to fight back.

Not to mention that the pinkette was close to passing out from her lack of energy. The only thing keeping her from losing conscious though was the fact that she needed to be assure that help was on the way.

" Cherry Blossom of The Spring!" A booming voice called out from the entrance gate. " Do not fear. Why? Because I am here!"

And upon hearing that, Sakura could see nothing but the darkness of her own mind.

* * *

" Go All Might! Fight!" Came the voice of a student from the distance.

Sakura winced in pain as she opened her eyes to see what was going on. In front of her, All Might was bent over holding onto Nomu's side. The girl's eyes widened when she saw the upper part of Nomu's body coming out from a purple patch and was now clutching at All Might's waist. Blood could be seen staining All Might's while collar shirt. Sakura reached out toward All might with her hand, wanting to help him out.

" All Might." Sakura whispered. " I'm sorry." A tear slipped down Sakura's cheek as she passed out from her low stamina.

* * *

"...It'll take more than that!" All Might's voice said, coming in through the darkness of what Sakura could see.

Slowly Sakura opened her eyes, wincing when she tried to move her legs a bit. In front of her, from her view from the ground, the pinkette could see All Might fighting against Nomu. And off in the distance, the pinkette could hear the cheering of Class 1-A again.

Traveling her view to the side a bit, Sakura could make out the figure of a couple students. But she was still too tired to even keep up being conscious so before she knew it, she had slipped back into her own mind.

 **" Pathetic."** A voice whispered in the pinkette's mind before she passed out once more.

* * *

" The fuck Bubblegum?" Bakugou's said, causing Sakura to search for where the voice came from after she half way opened her eyes. " Why'd you have to put your life on the line? You're bleeding too much, stop it."

Sakura found the boy over onto the left, holding Kurogiri down by his metal collar. The girl let out a hoarse chuckle. " I can't you stupid Firecracker."

The pinkette shifted her eyes around and saw Nomu half frozen, and Todoroki was standing by on the right. Her eyes swept around and she saw All Might, Kirishima, and Midorya all in a fighting stance as if they were all in a battle.

" Deku? You came back?" Sakura coughed as blood dripped down her mouth. Her strength still haven't fully come back, let alone was enough for her to heal her broken legs so they would stop hurting so much. " Why?"

And just like before, she lost conscious and darkness over took her mind.

* * *

On and off, Sakura would slipped in and out of conscious. The most recent one she had had was seeing Iida off in the distance with a handful of Pros by his sides. The assurance she had wanted was given so for the rest of the battle, she stayed passed out.

At some point, the sound of sirens could be heard, but Sakura didn't open her eyes to be sure it was the police. She felt herself being lifted onto a stretched and walked out on to a vehicle. Suddenly, next to her a voice came.

" Sorry I didn't get to you sooner." All Might said before he coughed out some blood and returned to his bonier form, he himself on a stretcher. " Maybe if I had, you wouldn't have been so badly injured. I promised Tsunade to watch over you."

" I'm just glad you came." Sakura mumbled out. " I don't know what would've happen if you hadn't."

They went silent after that, both too tired to continue on with pointless comments. After some time, they vehicle came to a stop and the door to the back was opened. Recovery Girl seemed pleasantly surprised to see both All Might and Sakura wake.

" I would prefer if I don't see you this often." Recovery Girl smiled to Sakura gently as she got someone to transport the girl to her offie along with All Might. " You're injuries however will be enough for me to heal. Only time will be able to return your energy though."

As Sakura was set down onto one of the bed, Recovery Girl gave the pinkette a small peck on her forehead. The girl sighed in relief when she could move her legs around again without the wincing of pain.

" Haruno? Are you okay?" Midoriya asked from the bed beside her, surprising the girl with his voice. She hand't expect him to be here as well.

Sakura turned her head over to the boy and gave a small smile. " What'd you do now? Break your arm again?"

Sheepishly Midoriya showed off his bandaged hand to which the pinkette only shook her head. Suddenly the door to the room could be hear opening and a man in a trenched coat walked in, asking for All Might.

Frantically Midoriya sat up, stuttering over himself as he tried to shield All Might from the detective's view. " I-is it all right for him to see you like this?"

" It's fine. Meet Naomasa Tsukauchi, a close friend of mine from the force." All Might introduced. " But the more important thing is, are the students okay? How about Aizawa? Thirteen?"

" They're all fine. Thirteen and Aizawa are being treated at the moment. And beside Haruno and Midoriya over there, no other students were severely injured." Tsukauchi confirmed and All Might let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the news. " if you three heroes hadn't risk your life, I'm sure the students wouldn't have survive."

" You're wrong." All Might said, surprising both Midoriya and Sakura. " The students of Class 1-A all risked their life today by fighting. This class is strong to have hold on for so long."

Sakura turned her head over to the window just as the sun was setting. A smile slipped on to her face from All Might's word. Maybe the Pro was right, maybe Class 1-A really was strong to have held on until help arrived.

So everything was fine. Right?


	10. Series I: Ten - Special Extra I

**Special Extra Chapter:**

* * *

Four weeks had already passed since the League Of Villain's attack, and only now was Class 1-A back at the U.S.J. And standing in a crowd, Sakura had her legs bandaged under Recovery Girl's advice to take some time off from using her Quirk to heal.

The pinkette leaned onto Bakugou's shoulder lazily, having gotten closer to the boy between the four weeks when Bakuguo would often shove the girl out of the way to get her a tray of food if the line was too long. _" I don't want you collapsing and spilling your food everywhere. You'd get it all over me."_ Were Bakugou's words of excuse.

" Despite the attack, I'd have to say that class is still class. " Thirteen said upfront, voice cheerful despite all that had happened. " Shall we begin?"

Sakura stood up straighter, a look off worry in her viridian eyes. " Are you sure you've fully recovered Teacher?"

" I'm fine, fine." Thirteen replied, spinning on one leg as if to prove a point on the matter. The Pro then jutted a thump over to Aizawa who had his face fully covered in bandages due to his injuries. " Aizawa over here suffered the most. And I do recall someone saying you broke your legs as well Haruno."

Sakura flushed as eyes went over to her. " I-i've gotten better. Nothing serious."

" Lets start class. We're wasting time just standing around making polite conversations anyway." Aizawa said, his voice drawling out lazily as he made his ways down the steps. However the hero was soon stopped by Midoriya who had been searching for something the moment he had stepped into the training arena.

" Mr. Aizawa, where's All Might? Wasn't he suppose to meet us here as well?" Midoriya asked to which Aizawa only shrugged his shoulders uncaringly at the question.

As Sakura left Bakugou's side and made her way down the stairs, she had swung an arm around Uraraka and vice versa. Both girls were more than excited for their first official rescue training with Thirteen and were gravely disappointed when they had to wait weeks until they were brought back to the U.S.J.

Class A was brought to a mountain section with a fissure running down the side. Curious, Sakura peered down only to meet darkness. Sighing, she carefully got back to Uraraka's side and sat on one of the large rocks sizable for a chair.

" Today, we'll be doing some rescue training where around three students will be down this chasm pretending to be injured victims. Each will be suffering from different symptoms such as being anxious or simply being hurt." Thirteen explained.

Up front, Kirishima had leaned in to check out the gorge. " I can barely see the bottom! How do we get down there?"

Sakura looked down on her legs and pulled up her P.E. uniform's leg to see if her wrapping was secure. The pinkette's legs were fine, she could probably still fight with them even if they were like this. Beside, the only reason she still had her bandages on was to stabilize it during the training under Recovery Girl's words.

" Lets see. The ones down in the chasm will be you four." Thirteen pointed over to Sakura, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida

The pinkette stared wide eyes at her teacher, not expecting to be one of the injured. However she decided to go with the flow as she and the other three students selected were ushered down into the fissure.

" We must do our best to fulfill the role of being injured!" Iida announced to which he got small cheers from Uraraka. " Haruno, you've passed out due to lack of energy, got it? Uraraka, you've been hit in the head while Midoriya will pretend he had broken one of his bone. I'll be the one extremely worried during this situation."

Sakura let out a small giggle as she turned over to Midoriya. " A bit ironic isn't it? You've broken your bones even in this scenario."

" Come on Sakura-chan! Lets do our best to play dead!" Uraraka smiled widely, patting the spot next to her for Sakura to lay down. " The faster we're saved, the faster we'll be able to help save others."

The pinkette nodded and laid down stiffly before relaxing onto the rock floor. The moment the two girls had laid down, Iida begun to shout for help frantically, even waving his arms in the air wildly as if to signal their whereabout. Closing her eyes to get into characters, Sakura heard the faint shouting from up the cliff.

" Why am I rescuing Deku?!" Bakugou shouted loudly and it traveled down to where the the said boy was, making him twitch in nervous laughter.

Sakura however, let out a low sigh as she felt her legs going numb from the lack of movements. " My legs feels numb. I really wish they would hurry up though, with the time Firecracker's arguing, I'd have time to sleep for half a hour."

" Help! Save us!" Iida cried out, his voice loud and clear. But the way he was too much into character earned him muffled laughter from Uraraka.

From above came Yaoyorozu's reassuring voice. " We'll be there to save you! Please be careful, we'll be there soon!"

" Thank you! We're saved!" Midoriya replied in character.

Slowly the students up the cliff got the pulley created and they lowered a raft with Tokoyami on it. The moment Tokoyami got out to help Uraraka up first, Iida leaned over Sakura and shouted words of encouragement.

" Don't worry Haruno! We're saved!" The tall boy cried in relief. " Everything's going to be okay!"

Sakura opened one of her eyes and she gave the boy a wide smile, creating smile wrinkles near her eyes. " You're making this really hard to stay passed out Iida."

" Hurry Tokoyami! Haruno's hallucinating because of the lack of warmth in her cheeks!" Iida ordered, causing the pinkette to quiver in laughter as she was picked up and placed next to Uraraka in the rescue raft. She felt Dark Shadow helping them lift off and thanked him softly to which he only gave the girl a weird look.

Once they were out of the gorge, Yaoyorozu walked over to the two girls to help them out. " Are you okay Uraraka? You're fidgeting a lot."

" Sorry, sorry! It's just that Iida-kun is so serious." Uraraka replied getting up. She offered a hand to Sakura who had slowly sat up. " Come on Sakura-chan, lets wait for Deku and Iida to be save as well."

The two girls walked over to Thirteen who was observing the action of the current rescue team. " Rescuing someone without the use of your Quick can be a taxing job but it's best to judge the situation before using your Quirk. I'm sure Bakugo can become a beautiful Hero."

" Nah. He'll never be beautiful." Sero commented and Sakura nudged him with her foot. " Er..I mean yet. He'll never be beautiful yet!"

After Midoriya and Iida was brought out, it was soon decided who was going to be the next team. Midoriya, Sakura, Uraraka, and Iidea were now the rescue team. And Asui, Mineta, Kirishima, and Shoji were the next injured victims.

" Uraraka and I will be going down. You two will stay up here to catch those who float up." Sakura said after the injured were sent down the fissure, already jumping down into the gorge pulling Uraraka along with her.

" I've got Tsu-chan and Kirishima." Uraraka said as Sakura put her down carefully. " Can you get Shoji and Mineta?"

The pinkette nodded in reply as she walked over to her two assigned students. " Is it okay if I carry you over my shoulders Shoji, Mineta?"

" Sure, but will you be okay?" Shoji asked, nodding to the girl's legs. " I'm bigger than you, and I'm worry that I'll be too heavy."

" It'll be okay. They've gotten better during the four weeks, nothing serious. Now lets get going." Sakura helped the bigger boy up and tossed him over her shoulders, eyes glowing green in power. She then bend down to Mineta and lifted him from the scruff of his costume.

The pinkette then turned over to Uraraka and signaled the brunette that she was going up. Sakura's eyes glowed green as she directed her Quirk's flow to her legs and arms. She bended her knees and took off from the ground. Carefully she landed near Iida.

" Good, we now only have to wait for Kirishima to float up." Iida said, glancing down to check. " Here he come!"

Kirishima floated out of the gorge and above Iida's held out hands. The red haired boy was soon dropped into the awaiting arms and Uraraka was soon floating out as well. Some students got to rescue while others stood by, finding their Quirk not very useful for the situation.

" You guys did good for only your first time. We'll now be moving onto the next battle scenario. Come on everyone, we'll be moving to a different setting." Thirteen declared after the last student was rescue.

* * *

" For this training, it's more of a real-life experience." Thirteen explained, gesturing to the debris laying around. " Four of you will be the rescuer and the other sixteen will be spread out hiding in any placed possible. This is suppose to give off the struggle of finding injured victims."

" We're playing hide-and-seek!" Ashido declared, pumping her fist into the air.

" No exactly, but almost." Thirteen corrected before pointing over to Sakura and the people near her. " Bakugou, Haruno, Uraraka, and Midoriya will be the rescuer. The rest of two minute to hide."

Sakura leaned onto Bakugou as she watched the rest of their classmates scattering out to all different places. She let out a sigh as she counted the time in her head...One hundred and fifty-nine...one hundred and sixty.

" Lets go." Sakura said, standing up straighter and take a couple steps forward to only feel someone grabbing her wrist.

Bakugou gave the girl a smirk when she turned around to see who had stopped her. " Follow my lead you garbage." And before Sakura knew it, she was yank up into the sky, Bakugou using one of his arm to propel them off the ground with his Quirk.

" Firecracker! What are you doing?! At this rate we'll be harming more than saving!" Sakura cried over the wind, cautious of Bakugou's explosion which had hit an already crumbling building. " Why's you bring me with you!?"

The two students landed on top of a building, both careful to not step on any tiles that may give into their weight. " If we work in twos, we'll be able to cover more grounds. I'll check the second floor, you take first."

Sakura let out a sigh as she made her way down the layers of debris that served as a staircase. Bakugou stayed behind on the second floor as she went down the second stairs and onto the first floor. There, she heard soft breathing.

" Anyone here?" Sakura called out, searching corners and under rubbishes. She lifted up two debris that formed a sort of house to meet a classmate. " Kaminari! Found you."

The said boy sat up and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. " I really thought no one would find me here. But thankfully it's a beauty such as you."

Sakura gave him a funny look, her eyes twitching at the remark. She helped Kaminari up and before leaving, she called out to Bakugou to tell him she was taking Kaminari to the safe zone. But just as she got out of the building, a loud noise could be heard not faraway.

" Is it another villain attack?" Kaminari voiced out loud, frantically searching around to where the sound may have come form. Off in the distance, a mist of dust could be seen bubbling near Uraraka and Iida.

Sakura bit her lips, her eyes narrowed into a glare. " I'm going to check it out, you go alert Aizawa and Thirteen."

Before she could even get a reply, the pinkette was already heading off to where the dust was collecting at. When she neared the area, she saw some of her classmates crowding around a large man in a villain sort of costume. And in one of his hands was Todoroki, passed out.

" What?" Sakura gasped, not really expecting a villain. " The force checked the whole building a few weeks ago, how can a villain get in again?"

" Everyone, run to the exit!" Ojiro shouted, running toward Class A along with Kaminari to alert the rest of the class of Aizawa's words. " Thirteen and Mr. Aizawa can't figth and they say it's best to avoid fighting with this villain as well!"

" No one's going anywhere!" The villain said, and before the students could get away, he raised a leg and stomped down onto the ground. The gesture created a powerful force of air that knocked back building and rose dust up from the floor.

Sakura flew into a building, not expecting the villain to do something so destructive in the first few minutes. Behind the pinkette, the building she crashed into cracked and swayed, and a few debris separated from the main structure to fall near the girl.

The pinkette then looked up, and she took a step back. The whole area had been cleared of buildings and rubbish. Class A was scattered all over the place, some on the ground while others were standing, but just barely.

" Now that the terrain had been cleared, you're all done for!" The villain declared, a hitch of amusement in his tone.

And out of the blue, Bakugou went flying toward the man, aiming for an explosion to the villain's face. But to no surprise, the villain was able to catch Bakugou's fist and push the said boy back.

" You guys run. I'll be the one to defeat him!" Bakugou said before charging in yet again head first.

On and on, Bakugou sent explosion at the villain. At one point the boy got a large explosion right at the villain's back, making the man take a couple steps forward. The blonde then jumped back a little, taking some time to catch his breath.

" Well, what are you waiting for? Take those weakling with you." Bakugou shouted, but he was soon stop by the voice of Kirishima.

" Who do you mean by Weakling. It can't possibly be one of us." Kirishima said, stepping forward along with Yaoyarozu.

The black haired girl placed her hand on her heart. " That's right. We are the twenty-one students of Class 1-A in the Hero Course. We will stay and fight. That's what true Heroes do no matter the advantage the villain has."

And as if one cue, the students started to attack one by one. Just as Yaoyorozu captured the villain in fishing net, Sakura ran forward, her fist pulled back. She aimed a punch for the villain's abdomen to which he moved his hand so she had hit his palm.

But the attack alone was powerful to the point blades of wind rippled through the battle field. The only problem was that the villain didn't seem the least bit effected by Sakura's performance. Frowning, the pinkette jumped back.

" Everyone, hold on tight!" Sakura called out. She raised her fist and brought it down on the ground. Her Quirk traveled to her clenched fist, and on contact, it released. At first there was only cracks on the field, but soon it expanded and the cracks became debris of rocks that fell out of place.

Dust arose form the ground, creating a layer of thick fog. The pinktte jumped out of the area to see what the villain's next step maybe. When she saw that the villain had only stumble a little she got ready to go in again. " He's not effected to the point it's making me frustrated."

" Sakura wait! I have a plan so hear me out." Midoriya called out, stopping the girl from moving any further. " Right now Kacchan's our distraction. You, Mineta, Uraraka..."

* * *

" Are you sure it's going to work?" Sakura asked after Midoriya explained the plan.

Midoriya only looked at his hands. " It has to or else we'll be in big trouble. Mr. Aizawa can't fight at the moment and Thirteen is still slightly injured. We'll have to go with it. Mineta, hand me one of your balls."

The smaller boy obliged, plucked one if his purple ball and handed it over to Midoriya. Uraraka then stepped forward and touched Midoriya's arm with all five fingers, making him float. And Asui wrapped her tongue around Midoriya's waist, stopping him form flying up to the sky too high. Given the signal, Asui threw the boy toward the villain.

In one swift movement, Midoriya reached out and pressed the sticky ball on Todoroki who was still being held. Surprise by the attack, the villain let go of Todoroki so Midoriya was able to carry the passed out boy to safety.

The green haired boy placed Todoroki on the floor and raised a hand. He bended a finger back, and after a minute, he released his finger from the hold. A blast of wind from the power directed itself toward the villain. But despite the power, the villain stood his ground.

" Now Sakura!" Midoriya called out to the pinkette.

Sakura, who had been searching for an angle to do her part gave the boy a smile. She raised a debris triple her size and started to spin around. At some point, after building up enough momentum, Sakura let got of the rubbish, launching it at the villain.

The object went hurling at the man, hitting him right in the middle. Because of the blades of wind caused by Midoriya, the villain wasn't able to see the debris thrown at him, thus not being able to counter it when it hit him. However, the piece of rock had only pushed the villain back a little, and already was the rubbish breaking.

Just as Sakura was about to go to Plan B, Bakugou rushed forward and launched an attack the villain, shoving the man back to the slab of rocks with Mineta's balls that were placed there while Midoriya fought against the villain.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief when she saw the villain unable to move from his spot. She made her way over to him, ready to see who was under the mask. But barely there, Bakugou had already reached the villain, and before the blonde could remove the mask, the villain did it himself.

" I am here!" All Might shouted, his grin as wide as ever.

The pinkette stopped dead in her tracks, her face blank. But after the fact that the villain was All might sunk in, she stomped over to the hero, hands on her hips and her face glaring dagger at the man. She didn't say anything, but tapped her foot, waiting for his explanation.

" I want to do a surprise in the end where a villain attacked." All Might laughed, but it soon died down when he saw the looks on his students face. " That...I'm sorry."

" All Might!" The students shouted, not approving of his lack of genuine apology. Sakura, however let out a long sigh. She crossed her arms in front of her and gave All Might a tired smile that went miles beyond.

" I hate to say it, but the surprise was a good idea." Sakura said, and her classmates looked at her bewildered.

" But Sakura-chan, he shouldn't have done that after what had happen." Uraraka said, confused as to why the pinkette was siding with All Might.

" Yeah Sakura, even though we did fight, we were all scared." Kirishima added. " It wasn't something to joke about."

Sakura nodded, agreeing with everything they had said. " But Kirishima, that first part that you just said told me something else. Didn't you see? We were all scared, we probably even doubted surviving this attack after see what All Might had done. But none of us ran, we had all stayed.

Today, we all took actions that were of true Heroes."


	11. Series I: Eleven

Despite the fact that many weeks that had already passed since the League of Villain's attack, news about the event still buzzed around as if it was the only news even worth mentioning. Sakura scrolled through her computer, finding nothing that she didn't already know about the event.

Sighing, the pinkette got up and reached for one of her antique boxes on her dresser. A soft smile reached her face as she opened the lid, satisfied with the fact that her U.A. acceptance letter was still there, unopened. The girl checked the time and soon placed the box back up before making her way to the door.

Quickly locking her doors, the pinkette went on her way to school. As she neared the school'd gate, a familiar voice from behind her called out to the girl, trying to grab her attention. Whirling around, Sakura was met with warm brown eyes.

" Sakura-chan!" Uraraka smiled, running up to the girl. " Lets walk to class together!"

Sakura nodded, returning Uraraka's wide grin. The two girls made their way to Class 1-A, and when the got in, they were soon met with the loud noises of the room that was contained by the closed door.

" I still can't over the fact that we fought with actual villains!"

" All Might was amazing!"

Sakura rolled her eyes despite her smile to which Uraraka let out a small giggle at her friend's expression. The pinkette walked over to her seat, and just as she sat down, Iida demanded everyone to be seated as well.

" You're the only one out of their seat." Kirishima pointed out, causing the taller boy to mutter under his breath as he walked back to his own desk.

The door suddenly opened to reveal Aizawa, his face sill bandaged. Everyone was silent as the Pro walked up front, slightly limping in the process. Once he reached his desk, he cleared his voice as if he was about to deliver an important speech .

" You guy survived the villain attack, but the fight still haven't ended." Aizawa drawl, causing his student to curiously stare at him, wondering what he meant. " The U.A. Sports Festival is drawing near."

" It's a great opportunity, tops heroes around the country will be there for scouting purposes." Yaoyorozu said.

At this, the students jumped up in excitement once it had sunk in. The U.A. Sports Festival was an event Sakura have always watched since she was in grade school. Although she had never gone in person, that didn't mean it was any less exciting on screen. The Sports Festival was an event where the first years were able to show off what they had.

" But is it a good idea, I mean we recently just had a villain attack." Jiro asked, raising her hand.

Aizawa sighed in agreement. " Yeah, but the school believe holding the Sports Festival would show how we're still rock solid even after an attack."

Sakura silently agreed with what Yoayorozu had said earlier. The Sports Festival would exposed her ability to the world since the event was so well known, and that was exactly what the pinkette wanted. The more the world knows of her power, the more she be given opportunity from other Pros. It was only natural for Hero Agencies to scout the most capable interns.

" If you understand the importance of this event then you better work hard and not lack off." Aizawa informed, getting nods from the students. " Homeroom class dismiss."

Sakura got up from her seat, knowing there would be some time before modern literature with Cementoss would start. She walked over to Bakugou's seat and plopped herself on top of his desk, causing the boy to look up at her.

" What do you want now Bubblegum?" Bakugou asked, however his voice wasn't as irritated as it would have been months ago.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders before blowing her bangs out of her face. " U.A. Sports Festival is still happening, and I suppose you'll be aiming for first place, aren't you?"

" Obviously." Bakugou said, leaning back into his chair so he was balancing it on its two back legs. " What's it to you? Don't tell me you want to work together until we face off. Sorry, but I don't do truce or teamwork."

Sakura let out a laugh before hopping off the desk. " No. I just wanted to let you know you're not the only one aiming for the top. Watch out Firecracker cause I'm going to be giving it my all as well. The next thing you know, I'll be breathing down you neck as I take first place."

" Alright class, settle down into your seats." Cementoss ordered, and obliging to the request, Sakura made her way back to her desk and sat down for the lesson to start. For the rest of the class time, Sakura spent her time writing down notes and listening to the lecture, finding nothing as interesting as the up coming festival.

* * *

As Modern Literature's class finished and they were dismissed for lunch, Sakura stayed behind with those who still haven't left for the eatery. And just like her, they were all bubbling with eagerness for the Sports Festival.

" Sakura-chan. Deku. Iida. Lets all do our best at the Festival." Uraraka said, eyes burning in passion. But there was something off about how her eyes blazed with determination.

" Are you okay? You don't took like your usual self." Ashido pointed out and Sakura had to silently agree with her.

However, Uraraka only nodded in signal that she was okay. " Everyone, I'm going to do my best!" The girl shouted, turning from one side of the room to the other, looking for someone to share her passion with. Sakura, being the closest to Uraraka pumped her fist up as well.

" That's right!" Sakura cheered. " I'll do my best as well! Lets do this Ochaco, we'll dominate the festival and win the whole damn thing!"

The two girls left the classroom with their eyes burning in determination, Iida and Midoriya following them closely from behind. As they got in line to enter the eatery, both Sakura and Uraraka calmed down, their voice now more of a normal tone.

" Why did you two decide to attend U.A. to become Pro Heroes?" Midoriya suddenly asked. " Is there a specific reason?"

The brunette suddenly looked around sheepishly, as if she didn't know how to answer the question properly. " Huh?...well..It's because I want to earn money."

Sakura turned to her friend, curiosity clearly on her face. " Money? You want to become a Hero for money?"

Uraraka scratched the back of her head abashed as if she was ashamed of her goal. However, she soon stopped when Iida encouraged her that her goal was nothing to be embarrassed because there was nothing wrong with wanting to support yourself.

" I know, it's just so unwholesome considering how you three have such admirable dreams." Uraraka replied to which Sakura looked away as if she had something to hide. " My family owns a construction company, but business is slow so we're flat broke."

" But with your Quirk, you'd be able to help out a lot, won't you?" Midoriya asked " You'd be able to move heavy material around easily."

Uraraka jumped up, her eyes big and lit up. " Exactly, that's what I told my dad. But both my parents refused my help, instead they said they wanted me to focus on my dream. They said it would make them happier to see me achieve what I want...But I'll definitely become a hero and make money."

There was a moment of silence, but after awhile, both Iida and Sakura started to clap loudly, cheering Uraraka on and drawing attention to them at the same time. However, when Sakura and Iida stopped clapping, Midoriya turned over to the pinkette.

" How about you Sakura?" The green haired boy asked, a smile on his face. " Do you have a reason as well?"

The pinkette was suddenly silent as she leaned against a window, her smile dropping the moment Midoriya asked her. She took in a deep breath before she looked up at her friends with a broken smile. " It's stupid, really. The reason why I started training to become a Hero would be one i'm most ashamed of."

Her words caused Iida to take a step closer to her. " Is it financial problem as well? If so, don't be embarrassed."

" No." Sakura replied. " I become a hero in-training to impress a boy. Sasuke Uchiha. I was twelve, maybe eleven when I went to Genin Academy, and during those years, I was always consider the dead weight considering how weak my Quirk was."

" Eh? But you're one of the strongest in the class, how was you Quirk consider weak?" Midoriya asked.

" I cared more about my looks then becoming someone who would save lives. Not to mention that most of the students during my year had all come from Hero families. Naruto Uzamaki was the son of the Fourth Hokage Hero: Yellow Flash. But maybe i'm only making excuses of why I was so weak." The pinkette answered.

Uraraka placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, a comforting smile on her face. " That's in the past now. You're not even in Konoha anymore. You said you were weak, so how did you become so strong? What motivated you to change?"

" I was tired of standing behind Naruto's and Sasuke's shadow, so I decided to take a step forward. But now that I think about it, I don't really have a reason to become a Top hero beside my admiration for them. I could easily dropped out right this moment. But I guess I want to prove myself...or something." Sakura said before suddenly stretching her hands up into the air and giving a yawn. " I'm not good a sentimental talk so lets stop."

Before anyone could bring up a different topic, All Might came charging at them, however, when he saw Iida and Uraraka, the Pro stayed half hidden in behind a corner. But considering how loud he was, it was no use masking his presence.

" All Might? What's the matter?" Sakura asked, staring at the man with a surprised look.

The Pro grinned widely before holding out his bento, bunny patterns on the wrapping. " Lunch! Wanna eat together, Young Haruno? Young Midoriya?"

Sakura turned to Uraraka who was busy trying to contain her laughter after seeing All Might's lunch wrap. " Is it okay with you guys if we go with All Might?" Uraraka only gave the girl a thumbs up, not being able to talk. " Come on Deku. Bye Iida, Ochaco."

Sakura grabbed Midoriya by his sleeve and pulled him over to All Might. Together, the three made their way over to the lounge where they could talk in moment they stepped into the room though, All Might immediately turned back to his original form.

" Sorry about that you two." All Might coughed. " I can only last fifty minutes now in my other form so I had to rush us over here. More importantly, I want to talk about the up coming Sports Festival with you two."

" W-wait, what do you mean? How come your time had gone down?" Midoriya asked, now sitting on the edge of his seat.

Sakura let out a sigh. " You already know why. All Might used his power over his limit too many times. It's during times like this that I wished we hadn't stop the research for you All Might."

The Pro only waved the girl off, not wanting her to blame herself anymore. " Have some tea you two. On to a different matter, Midoriya, you still can't control One For All, correct? So what are you going to do, not take part in the festival?"

The boy's face scrunched into concentration, after awhile his face relax. " There was this one time I landed a punch on Nomu. But there wasn't any backlash, I didn't break any of my bones even though I'm sure I had used One For All."

" Good, good. So what was different?" All Might asked, happy with some process. " Why do you think your bones didn't break?"

" Well I thought about it before..." Midoriya trailed off. " I think it was because it was the first time I used it on a person. I'm not so sure, but I'm sure it's because of that."

" That's good enough for now. But frankly speaking, I'm positive I don't have much time left as the Symbol of Peace." All Might said gravely. " That's what I came here to talk to you about Midoriya. The U.A. Sports Festival is an event the whole country is watching. As the new All Might, as the future Symbol of Peace, I want you to tell everyone that you are here. Izuku Midoriya, the next Symbol of Peace."

Sakura smiled as she down the last of her tea, chuckling at the shock look on Midoriya's face. However, just as Midoriya got over his shock, it was already time to head back for their next class. Before Sakura could leave though, All Might stopped her.

" Stay behind for a bit Young Haruno. I still have something to discuss with you." All Might as he waved good-bye to his successor.

The two went back into the lounge and sat down, no one saying anything for a couple minutes. But All Might soon let out a sigh and stared out the window. Silence continued to follow after that, but the Pro then looked straight into Sakura's eyes.

" You have a habit of holding onto the past." All Might said. " Cherry Blossom of The Spring, you need to learn how to let go and only then will you be able to create a dream for yourself."

" So you heard me? How?" Sakura asked, looking down onto her lap. " Never mind. The thing is, how am I suppose to let go? It's practically the reason why I'm here in the first place. If I hadn't met Sasuke, I'd probably be at a normal school will no thought of becoming a hero. Still talking about cute boys and shit."

" That's not the only problem though, is it?" All Might said quietly. " The research was years ago. You still talk about it as if it was a failure because you couldn't complete it. Young Haruno, someone once told me that sometimes letting go it the best option."

" Well you can't let go if it's tied around your neck." Sakura replied harshly, but she soon regretted her words. "...Sorry. I just don't like talking about who I was three years ago. But what can I do?"

All Might winced as if his words might hurt her. " I think it's best if you cut off connection with Konoha Twelve. It's clearly weighing you down from branching out."

The pinkette grew silent, not knowing what to say. She hung her head in thoughts, her bangs covering her face so her expression was hidden. Finally, the girl looked up, her eyes brighter then before and her smile twice as wide. " Okay. Maybe if I do as you suggested, I'll figure out a reason why I want to become a hero."

" You don't have to, it's only a suggestion." All Might said softly.

Sakura held up her hand, stopping him from going on. " Yes, but this is coming from you, The Symbol of Peace. Beside Lady Tsunade, you're my biggest role model. Speaking of Lady Tsunade, I owe her everything. The reason why I'm this strong is because she trained me."

" I'm guessing no one from your class even know the name of your Quirk. It's best if you tell someone though. Your Quirk is one of a kind, A Quirk that can be honed into something else is one to be proud of. No matter its past, no matter its first impression." The Pro commented.

" I have a question." Sakura said. " What brought this up? It can't just be because a couple students were talking about becoming heroes."

" Sharp as ever." All Might grinned. " You're right. I want to talk about the Sports Festival with you alone as well. Young Midoriya now know what's expected from him. He knows he's going to have to tell the world that he's here. But what about you?"

Not getting where this was going at, the pinkette tilted her head to the side in confusion. All Might suddenly got up and walked over the window, scanning the school's campus. He then turned over to Sakura who was still left in confusion.

" You are Sakura Haruno, pupil of Lady Tsunade, student of All Might, and a friend to the future Symbol Of Peace." All Might said dramatically. " Wielder of the Quirk Chakra, can potentially become the number one Hero of her generation, and you still haven't find a dream you can grow with. So fine, figure out your goal, but I want you to also announce yourself. Not just as a prodigy, but with someone with a title worth remembering."

" You want me to be The Symbol of Peace the third?" Sakura asked dumbfounded, but relaxed when All Might shook his head.

All Might pointed in the direction of Sakura's heart before moving it to her forehead. " I want you to give yourself a title. A title that no one can take. One that can not be passed down because it's yours and only yours. You don't require one now, but you'll need one when your name is spoken among those of top heroes. "

" A title?" Sakura's eyes widened, not expecting this from All might.

By now, the sun was high above the school, shedding it's blazing light through the window and into the room. And at the angle All Might was at, the light reflected off his eyes, giving off an aura of power that usually never appeared in All Might's skeleton form.

" Cherry Blossom Of The Spring I want you to be a hero who's not one in a million but one in a lifetime!"


	12. Series I: Twelve

Sakura walked back to Class 1-A's homeroom class with her head held high in determination. All Might's words had a huge impact on her, it was just too bad their conversation was cut short since the school day was coming to an end and the pinkette needed to get back to class as well.

However, when she reached her classroom, she was surprised to see a crowd of students from different courses gathering around Class A's door. The pinkette stepped in closer, causing heads to turn her way. Instantly they formed a path for the girl to walk through.

" Eh?" Sakura silently muttered, feeling the crowd's eyes on her as she walked into the classroom to grab her stuff.

The moment she stepped into the room, she regretted even making a move. The crowd wouldn't even move for Class A to get out and head home. Instead, the group of students seem to only grow in number.

" Who are they? Why are they here?" Sakura asked Uraraka who was frowning at the crowd.

" I don't know. But I think the only reason they allowed you to come through was so that you wouldn't be able to leave after entering." The brunette answered. " What ever they have to say, they want you to be here to hear it as well."

From behind Sakura, Bakugou stepped forward and walked over to the crowd. " They're scouting out the enemies can't you tell? We're the ones who survived the villain's attack, and because of the Sports Festival.. well you get the idea you trashes."

Sakura quickly got her bag before following Bakugou's lead. " Of course, it makes complete sense why they're here now."

" Yeah, but there's no point in doing stuff like this though." Bakugou scowled deeply at the people in front of him, making them either advert their eyes or step back. " Out of my way you extras."

" Firecracker!" Sakura scolded before punching the boy lightly on the arm. " You can't go around calling people Extras just because you don't know them."

From the crowd came a sudden lazy voice with a hint of disgust. " We came to check out the famous Class A, but there isn't anything to look at. You guys are just a bunch of arrogant kids who got lucky during a villain's attack."

Soon, a boy with purple hair and a bored expression came forward with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Sakura, not liking his attitude, leaned her face into the new comer's, her eyes narrowed into a glare. " What do you know? I didn't see you out in the field fighting for your life."

" I'm from the general studies, and just like me some people enrolled into other courses cause they didn't make it into the hero course." The boy continued on as if he hadn't heard the pinkette. " But with the Sports Festival, some of us can move into the hero course. And depending on the results, some of you may also transfer out."

" Are you threatening my position as a student of Class 1-A?" Sakura asked sharply, her temper getting the better of her.

The boy help up his hand as if it would silence her, which it did for a short amount of time. " I came more with just a threat. I came here with a declaration of war."

Next to Sakura, Bakugou clenched his fist. The blonde wasn't shaking in rage nor did he have a smile on his face. Instead Bakugou was deadly calm. When someone else decided to speak up, Bakugou only walked away as if no one was even worth his time.

" Hey. Hey! Where are you going? This is all your fault people are hating on us!" Kirishima pointed out, causing Bakugou to stop mid-step.

Bakugou half way turned around to face his class. But when he looked around, his eyes lingered on a certain pinkette who only idly stared back. " It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter as long as I rise to the top of this event and everything else." And with that said, Bakugou walked away.

" That's so simple and manly!" Kirishima said after awhile, but Sakura wasn't listening, instead she too, walked away.

As Sakura walked back home, her mind was clouded with everything that had happened today. Including her talk with All Might. Bakugou was in U.A. to simply become the top hero, and although that dream was common, it coming from Bakugou was a huge deal.

Uraraka wanted to become a Hero so she could earn money and let her parents take things easily. And Midoriya once told the pinkette that Iida was from a Hero Family so it only made sense the tall boy was at U.A. as well.

" _But why am I here?"_ The pinkette pondered as she walked into her house. However, instead of getting into her home clothes, the girl changed into work out ones instead. The sun was beginning to set by now, but Sakura made her way to the park she usual goes to when she wanted to get some training in.

The last time she was here, she met a man who turned out to be a villain. Unlike last time, the pinkette hadn't rented the park for the night. But it just so happened that no one else did either so Sakura only had to sign in with the man on patrol.

The pinkette looked around before deciding to just do some normal exercise without her Quirk. She let out a sigh as she started to jog around the park's perimeter, her mind never silent from her thoughts.

" _Do I really want to be a hero_?"

" _Do I have the motivation like others do_?"

Sakura suddenly stopped, eyes wide at her own questions to herself. Shaking her head as if it might make those thoughts go away, The girl begun to flood her mind with only the positives, including what All Might told her. With new found energy, Sakura pumped the flow of her Quirk in to legs and sped of into the night sky.

" I'm going to become a Hero with a title!" The girl shouted against the wind, her face split in to a huge grin before she burst out into laughter of delight.

* * *

For the next two weeks, the pinkette spent her time at the park late at night or would often take a run along side the beach line. All Might never showed up to help her train, nor did he help out Midoriya, meaning he wanted them to make it on their own.

For her healing ability, the pinkette encouraged her class to go all out in the training, reassuring them she will heal them later. At some point, the girl registered as a temporary intern at a near by hospital. And two days in, she was already helping out on the operating table.

Her training also consisted of weightlifting on a cliff and swims in the deeper part of the ocean. And when Sakura felt that it wasn't enough to get her stronger, she would request for the school to release a couple of their bigger robots for her.

Speaking of school, Both Sakura and Uraraka took over ground beta along side each other as partners. With Uraraka's zero gravity and Sakura's inhuman strength, their Quirks complimented each other perfectly.

So when the two weeks of preparation was over, both the girls found themselves thrilled and nervous at the same time. And no one could blame them, the festival was one where mixed emotion could be discovered and where winners were found.

The press crowded around the school as expected. Dozens of booths were set up, each full of merchandise or snacks for the audience. Class 1-A however, were all anxiously waiting in their waiting room that was assigned to them. Sakura nervously fidgeted with the hem of her P.E. uniform, eyes darting from one side of the room to another.

" Stay still Bubblegum, your fidgeting is bothering me." Bakugou commented, covering the girl's hand so she would stop.

Sakura huffed in anger. " Not everyone's as confident as you. Wait, I mean arrogant." At this, the pinkette nudged the boy with her hand, trying to see if he was going to get angry at the insult. However, Bakugou only rolled his eyes at her action and expectation.

" Is everyone ready?" Iida asked, suddenly appearing through the door. " We'll be going out soon."

Just as Sakura was about to stretch out her nerves, Todoroki approached her, his eyes glancing at her and Midoriya one at a time. Curiously the pinkette stood up straighter, offering a soft smile at the boy. " Is there something you want, Todoroki?"

" Looking at things objectively, if you and I were to compete in a one on one battle, either of us could come out first." Todoroki said in his stoic tone. " But I can't say the same for Midoriya. However, both of you share the interest of All Might."

Sakura tilted her head to the right, trying to see if Midoriya knew where Todoroki was coming from and what the boy was trying to say. " I don't know what you mean. All Might and I have known each other for years ago, nothing else."

" I don't care, but I thought you should know that I'm going to beat you, both you _and_ Midoriya." Todoroki replied.

Although the pinkette didn't know what he meant by saying All Might had his eyes on her and Midoriya, she knew a challenge when she sees one. " Are you challenging me? If so, I accept, winner takes all, including first place."

" Another declaration of war? And it's coming from the two top students in the class too." Kaminari grinned.

But it seemed either Todoroki didn't hear or he didn't care as he made his way out of the room. But just as he was about to step out, Midoriya spoke up, causing everyone stare at him. " Everyone, even those from other courses are aiming for the top. I'm going to give it my all as well."

And as if that settled it, everyone started to walk out of the room, even Mineta who seemed the most nervous of all. As they neared the entrance to the arena, the class could already here the introduction of their entering.

Confidently, Sakura took a step into the light, her step firm and her hands clenched into fists by her side. Instantly, the pinkette searched the seats of U.A.'s staff, trying to find All Might. When she saw him, her eyes flashed blue before it flashed green.

This was her signal to him, even without a title for now, she was going to make sure she was seen. She was going to make sure the pros who were watching would see her skills even if she still lacked what others from her class already had: a motivating dream.

After she was sure All Might had noticed her, the girl took the time to look around her surrounding. Her eyes widened in excitement, and where were all the nerves that were there a few minutes ago, she had no clue where they had gone.

" And here they are! The new stars that overcame an enemy attack with their hearts of steel!" Present Mic introduced loudly, his face projected on the many screens of the arena. " Hero course, Class 1-A!"

Next to Sakura, Uraraka quietly squealed happily. " There's so many people! It's making me excited!"

Up ahead, Present Mic continued on with his introduction for all the courses, including Class 1-B. Swiftly the courses all met up in the middle of the arena, and although they were right next to each other, they did not mix in with one another.

" All right then!" Present Mic concluded with the usual high pitch in his voice. " Time for the player pledge!"

Up front, Midnight stood on the stage, demanding for some silence as she waved her whip around. " Presenting the students is Katsuki Bakugou from Hero Course Class 1-A!"

Sakura glanced at the boy in front of her, not expecting it to be him considering how there was over forty students presented. However, Bakugou looked on uncaringly as he made his way up to the stage along side Midnight who moved out of the way so the boy could use the microphone.

" I pledge..." Bakugou started off lazily. "...That I'll be number one."

The reaction was instant. Other courses booed the boy, raising their hand so people could see their up side down thumbs. Class A themselves complained about Bakugou's action among each other, knowing full well that Bakugou was the main reason why their class was hated on so much.

Bakugou stepped back down, ignoring the shouts aimed at him. As he passed Sakura, the pinkette brushed her shoulder against his, causing him to look at her at the corner of his eyes. He gave her a smirk while the pinkette smiled at him softly.

" Nice going Firecracker." The girl whispered at him, loud enough for the boy to hear but soft enough that no one else heard.

" Only the best." Bakugou returned as he walked away with his hands stiffed into his pockets.

Bakugou's little comment to the audience and courses was soon forgotten when Midnight picked up the microphone to announce the first game. " Now lets get started right away! The first game is what you call a qualifier, and here it is!"

The screen behind Midnight started to spin, and at one point it came to a complete halt, showing off two words: Obstacle Race. As Midnight explained how the race was going to happen, Sakura's eyes sparked green with power. In advance she started to guide her Quirk into her legs for a boost of power incase she needed to take off for a head start.

" Take your places everyone!" Midnight advise. Three lights on the exit tunnel started to go down one by one until only the last one was still on. And just as it faded out, Midnight cracked her whip. "... And start!"

Quickly everyone made a run for it. Sakura pulled on ahead of her classmates, her legs nimble and light as she weaved through the other students. However, since the pinkette had started at the way back, once they had enter the tunnel she was squished against other students.

She just had to get past one more layer of students and she would be ale to move around in the open more freely, but if she was to use her Quirk to push the other students away, she might end up injuring them in the process.

Suddenly Sakura felt the temperature go down and she was left shivering. She looked down to see her feet covered in ice that went up to her ankle. Surprised, Sakura looked up to see Todoroki rushing ahead, using the fact that he could have everyone stuck in place for some time to his advantage.

Quickly Sakura smashed the ice with her clenched fist and ran after Todoroki. Instead of the ice slowing her down, with each step the pinkette took, the ice beneath her feet broke away from the impact of her feet hitting against it.

" Todoroki!" Sakura shouted after the boy, her voice loud and clear against the frost in the air and her face split into a grin. " Wait up!"

The boy ignored the pinkette's antics and continued to run. At some point, Sakura was able to reach Todoroki so they were running along side each other, neck and neck. However, just as it seem the two was about to lose the group behind them, massive metal parts stopped them from running on ahead.

Wide eyed, Sakura looked up to see duplicates of the robots she went up against for the entrance exam. Before the pinkette could make a move, Todoroki was already one step ahead of her. Instantly he froze the ground to which the ice climbed up onto the robots, stopping it in its track.

Soon after, Todoroki passes the bots between its leg, leaving Sakura to follow after him. But just as the pinkette started to pass though as well, she heard a cracking noice above her. Instantly her head looked up, trying to find where the sound was coming from.

However, it didn't take long for the girl to see the falling pieces of ice coming towards her from above. And it also didn't take long before Sakura had her fist pointed upward with a rush of force supporting it. As the block of ice fell over her head and landed on her fist, it immediately broke into thirty smaller pieces, flying in all directions.

Before deciding to just weave through the rest of the falling ice, Sakura decided to also leave a small little present for the rest of the contestants. Finding a clear area for the time being, Sakura raised her fist up before allowing it to come crashing down onto the ground, creating a small shake in the area.

The action caused the ground to split into different large pieces of earth, making the ground uneven and hard for the other contestants to walk or fight smoothly on it. For the students who weren't on the ground yet due to loss of balance, they tumbled against each other and eventual fell.

Grinning at her handy work, the pinkette turned her back on the others and continued to run along the path, eager to meet the next challenge. Nothing was going to stand in her way of taking the title of first place, Sakura was sure of that much.


	13. Series I: Thirteen

As Sakura turned a corner, she gave a silent cheer, thinking she had already passed the first challenge but she was proven wrong when another robot villain sprang up on her from behind. This one caught her by surprise, for it had even managed to strike her cheek with one of its metal claws.

Quickly Sakura got out of the way when another attack was directed at her. From the corner of her eyes she glanced at the path that Todoroki had already crossed, and suddenly she became anxious at the fact that she was behind.

" Calm down Sakura. Take care of your problem first." The pinkette mumbled to herself, her eyes getting intense as she charged at the bot.

She pulled her fist back before stretching it out in front of her, getting the robot right in the middle. Instantly the robot was sent flying back, and as it tried to get back up, it shuddered to a stop before it could reached the girl, its damaged wires sparking with electricity.

After she was sure there was no more around, Sakura headed along the path, her speed picking up with each step and craters forming from where her feet once landed. Suddenly she came to a stop, almost falling into the ditch of the second obstacle.

Up ahead, Todoroki had already gotten to the other side. Without another word, Sakura's eyes glowed green as she guided the flow of her Quirk into her legs. And with a burst of power, she was launched into the air before landing next to Todoroki.

" And would you look at that!" Present Mic announced, getting up from his seat with a jolt. " Sakura Haruno, Class 1-A gets passed the second obstacle without a sweat! As expected from the first place taker of Mummy Man's Quirk Assessment Test at the beginning of the school year!"

Sakura beamed slightly at the statement, finding some sort of pride with what Present Mic had said. By this time, the pinkette had already managed to catch up to Todoroki, one pulling ahead of the other and the other pulling ahead at some point as well.

Suddenly the boy sent a jet of ice at Sakura's feet, stopping the girl from continuing to run for a temporary time. Sakura frowned at her feet before looking up at Todoroki who had already rushed passed her, a twitching smile on her face.

" Fine, if that's how you want to play it." Sakura mumbled to herself before calling out to the boy. " You better watch out for me Todoroki!"

And to keep her words, the pinkette broke free from the ice and charged at the boy. She took a quick stop and then stomped her foot down onto the ground. A sharp fissure appeared and aimed right at Todoroki, and when the attack reached the boy, one of his foot hit against the crack, causing the boy to slightly stumble forward.

His fall would have satisfied the pinkette, but the boy was able to catch himself right on time, creating a wall of ice under him so he could slide through the fall. Groaning, Sakura caught up to the boy in half a minute.

But just as she reached Todoroki, the boy wasted no time sending a blast of ice at the pinkette's body. Her reflex, however, was sharp enough so that she had dodged right in time, all she had to do was pivot on her left leg to avoid the disaster the could've gotten her body frozen.

If this wasn't such an important event for her career as a future hero, Sakura would taunt the boy as she delivered a haste kick at his ankle. But to her disappointment he had frozen his ankle just at the right moment. So instead of the kick knocking the boy down, it had only broken the ice off.

As the two continue to race each other, the person that both of them had expected to be near could be heard from above. Unintentionally the pinkette found herself turning her head back a little to see Bakugo using his Quirk to keep him up in the air.

" Took you long enough!" Sakura shouted through the sparks of the explosions to which the boy only spared her a smirk.

" Shut up Bubblegum. Focus on your running, or else _I'll_ be the one breathing down your neck as I take first place." Bakugou replied, reciting Sakura's own words to her.

The pinkette replied with a huff at his remark. But as she directed her vision back to the path before her, she gave Todoroki a sideways look, her pace suddenly getting faster. She then pull ahead of Todoroki, making sure that every steps that she took, they would leave a trail of craters so the other students would have a hard time running on the path.

And when she suddenly felt her feet being frozen again, she didn't even bother to bend down to get rid of it with her fists. Instead the pinkette continued on in a running motion, breaking the ice as she ran right through it.

Not to her surprise though, Todoroki created a path of ice as he came sliding on it next to Sakura. With in seconds, the boy had managed to sweep pass the girl, ending Sakura's five minutes of being at the front of the race over everyone else.

Frowning, the pinkette sped up, her eyes now surrounded by a more intense glow of green. Up ahead she saw Todoroki coming to a suddenly halt, and she soon found herself having the same trouble coming to a stop as well when she saw the signs of explosion warning.

" It seems the third barrier caught the top two competitors by surprise!" Present Mic announced and Sakura couldn't help but thought he enjoyed seeing them struggle a bit more then he should be. " Although the minefield is set up with toy explosions, they're loud and flashy enough to make anyone wet their pants!"

When the Pro finished explaining what the minefield was like, Sakura was just about ready to charge in until she realized that going head in wouldn't do her any good. Instead she carefully took one step onto the field, treating it as if it was a battle ground.

Todoroki however was much quicker on his feet, having already taken a few steps ahead of Sakura. Left and right the girl had to make sure her feet could land on a safe zone, beads of sweat forming from her forehead when she missed a mine by half an inch.

Suddenly Sakura flinched, her eyes wide with shock when a deafening sound met her ears. Reflexively she turned back to see what had caused the sound to find other students right behind her much to her dismay. And then, out of nowhere, Bakugou abruptly sweeps pass the pinkette, aiming to reach Todoroki instead.

" Don't declare war on the wrong person!" The blonde shouted, trying to land a sparking hand on Todoroki.

Behind the two boys, Sakura suddenly stopped in her steps, not even caring that she could hear the crowd of students behind her getting closer to where she was. She stared at the two boys in front of her, not knowing why she had even stop to begin with.

And then, it dawned on to her like cold water. She wasn't giving it her all, not during the robot challenge and not even now. The pinkette clenched her fist tightly, and as if she found a new burst of energy, she sped up her pace.

Within seconds, Sakura was able to catch up with both Bakugou and Todoroki, diverting the boy's attention from each other for a while. She didn't look at them, having no reason to considering how they were all rivals during this battle and possibly in the future. This was no time to make friends or for smiles.

And then, as if it was planned, both of the boys attack the pinkette from each side. Luckily for Sakura though, she jumped straight up right on time, avoiding getting her frozen body blasted into tiny bits. On the other hand, since the attack missed the middle person, it aimed at the opposite boy and vise versa.

But to no surprise, both the boys managed to dodge each other's attack. As the three continue to race against each other with an even more intense desire to outshine the other two, there gave a sudden roaring explosion that stopped the trio in their tracks.

" And would you look at that!" Present Mic shouted. " Class A's Midoriya is in hot pursuit for first place with that blast!"

At those words, Sakura didn't know whether to be happy to see that Midoriya was following All Might's request or to be annoyed that she had one more person to worry about. And it didn't help when Todoroki and Bakugou suddenly used their Quirks to keep up with Midoriya's sudden boost.

And once again, the pinkette was left behind. If she was to use her Quirk in an area that had many trigger of bombs, she could probably end up destroying the whole place. But if she went with the decision to not use her Quirk, the outcome wasn't something she looked forward to.

Groaning in frustration, Sakura continue on running as she thought of a plan to somehow over take the other three boys. Up ahead though, another loud explosion shook the ground. As a puff of pink was created, Sakura was able to make out the figure of Midoriya already passed the third trial.

In a moment of blankness, Sakura jumped forward, high and long. She went flying over Todoroki's and Bakugou's head and landed passed the minefield. However, when she landed on her feet, she stood still for a moment before running to catch up to Midoriya.

And as the stadium came into view, Sakura already knew the outcome of her results. Midoriya was only a step away from the finish line so the best the pinkette could land for was second place. Quickly Sakura ran into the spotlight of the arena.

The roaring cheers and the earsplitting shouting brought Sakura's attention to the stand, and the first thing she noticed was the proud look on All Might's face for Midoriya. Speaking of Midoriya, Sakura walked over to the said boy.

" Congratulation Deku!" Sakura chirped. " I have to admit though, I was a bit surprise when you went flying over my head."

" Sakura!" Midoriya smiled widely, and the pinkette could already see the tears already beginning to form.

The girl laughed at Midoriya's reaction before patting him on his back. The two waited as one by one more student started to pass the finish line as well. Todoroki and Bakugou were in fact only a few seconds behind Sakura, she just didn't notice them until now.

Finally, everyone finished the race but only the top forty-two competitors were qualify for the next challenge which Midnight was just about to announce. As everyone lined up just like before, many classmates stopped to congratulate Midoriya on his win.

" We've prepared others chances for anyone to shine." Midnight assured. " So the real competition begin now. Now then, here is the second game of the festival!...A Calvary Battle! The participants can form teams of two to four, and from the first game, everyone has a a certain value to their team."

" So from the start you have to have a strategy." Sakura said to herself under her breath. " No to mention that you have to pick your team wisely."

Up front, Midnight suddenly cracked her whip, surprising the pinkette. A sort of gleam entered the Pro's eyes as she showed off the points everyone was worth. " Point go up from the last place by five, however, first place has ten million!"

Sakura quickly forgot her two hundred and five value as she turned over to Midoriya who had started to sweat bullets. If her team took down Midoriya's, she would be standing at the top no matter what team members she have. Moreover, the pinkette also had to make sure her team would have a secure place on top if they don't manage to get the ten million points in the end.

" Let me now explain the rules of the game!" Midnight announced. " The time limit is fifteen minutes, the rider of each team wears the value of the team and everyone has to try and get each other's headband within the fifteen minutes. Now start building your teams!"

" S-Sakura! Would you like to be on my team?" Midoriya asked nervously, snapping the girl out of her train of thoughts.

The pinkette stared at the boy from the corner of her eyes before she started to smile tiredly. " No. And don't ask why, I think you already do know the reason why I refuse to team up with you."

Midoriya didn't call after the girl as she left, having his own thing to worry about for the time being. And the reason why she said no to him was also a reason he didn't stop her from walking away. In this situation, they were both going to have to fight each other for the spotlight, if not as classmates then as students of All Might.

" Oi Bubblegum!" A demanding voice shouted through the nosies of the crowd. " Join my team and help me dominate this round."

Knowing full well who it was, Sakura shook her head in answer. " Sorry Firecracker, but I can't. Didn't I tell I'll beat you? If I join your team, how am I suppose to do that? Beside, you even told me you'll do no truce with me before."

Sakura turned around toward where Bakugou's voice had come from, ready to see what his retort was going to be. She didn't even flinch when she turned around and saw Bakugou's face inches form her own. Instead the pinkette smiled at the blonde's glare.

" Think of the bigger picture Bubblegum." Bakugou said. " Do you really think any of those extras will be able to help you get pass this round? Join my team and your spot to the next game is secure. Hell, I'd say there's a position for the next challenge with your name on it if you were to team up with me right now."

" You're really convincing." Sakura replied, rolling her eyes. " But sure, I'll join. So tell me, who else is on this team of yours?"

" Shitty Hair and Duck Tape over there." Bakugou said, stuffing his pants in his pockets and leading Sakura over to where the rest of his team members were.

As Sakura got to know the other two member, time ticked by slowly, allowing Team Bakugou to figure out who was front and who were going to be on the wings. Finally, after five more minutes, Midnight called for everyone's attention as she started the second game.

" Ready Bubblegum? Duck Tape? Shitty Hair?" Bakugou asked, readjusting his headband on his forehead.

Up front, Midnight swung her whip around, a sort of evil grin on her face. " And now that everyone has a team, let us begin! Ready? Set. Go!"

And without delay, Sakura took off as the front for Team Bakugo. Her eyes glowed a sharp green, making it a bit hard for her teammates to keep up with her speed and power. Just as Team Bakugou neared Team Midoriya, Bakugou's weight was suddenly lifted out.

It took a whole minute for the pinkette to figure out why she couldn't feel the weight of the explosive boy on her back, and it took her another to locate him up ahead. It would've taken Sakura a second to get to Bakugou, but the second wasn't given since the boy was already heading toward the ground.

Fortunately Sero thought ahead and plopped Bakugou back where he was suppose to be after grabbing the boy with his tape type Quirk from behind. Once Sakura felt that Bakugou was securely on her back, she started to make her way over to Midoriya again.

" Don't go off like that again Firecracker!" Sakura ordered in the meantime. " If you have to though, give us a signal so we know where to locate you in time."

" Yeah, yeah can you just-" The boy was left speechless as he felt someone jerk his headband off. And the fact that he had trailed off during one of his demand was enough for his team to stop and look around.

" Class A is too simple-minded." A blonde boy from Class B announced as he swept passed Team Bakugou with their headband in his hand. And as if the newcomer wanted more than just their headband, he started to list some events where Class A were nothing but average students. The points the newcomer made were things Sakura could deal with, but the fact that he also threw in some insults struck her hard.

"..." Bakugou didn't say anything for awhile, his silence even scaring Kirishima and Sero a bit. But after awhile, he exploded. "...Change of plans, we're going after this ass's team before we take care of Deku's sorry excuse of a team."

" Calm down Bakugou, we need a clear mind if we want to get out points back!" Kirishima tried to reason with the boy.

Bakugou turned a deaf ear to the advice as he pounded his sparking fist together. " I'm totally calm right now! Forward Bubblegum, we're going to keep by promise!"

Not needing another word of command, Sakura ran toward the boy known as Monoma. As they neared their target's team, Bakugou aimed a sparking hand at Monoma's face, but to Sakura surprise, Monoma was able to dodge Bakugo's attack with his own explosion.

" Wow, this really is a nice Quirk. No wonder you like to show it off." Monoma commented casually, feeding Bakugou's rage with his biting statements.

Blinded by anger, Bakugou swung another arm at Monoma's side, this one packed with even more explosions and strength. To Team Bakugou's surprise, Monoma was age to cover his face in time, his arm just like Kirishima's when he used his Quirk.

" He has a sort of copying Quirk." Bakugou snarled out, informing his team of what they were going up against.

Just as Sakura was going to attack Monoma herself, a different team suddenly appeared and spilled something liquid at their feet. As that happened, Monoma's team ran away while taunting them merciless, most of them directed at Bakugou since he seemed like the one with the shortest temper.

" Hurry up! After that shit head's team!" Bakugou shouted, moving around restlessly.

Just as Sakura was about to charge, she suddenly felt herself unable to move from where she was. Surprised she looked down at her feet to found that whatever was dumped on their feet at hardened. But within seconds, the pinkette was able to break free. Kirishima and Sero on the other hand were still stuck in place.

" What was it that you had said during the pledge? How embarrassing that you couldn't even keep your own words." Monoma continued on.

As if it was planned, both Bakugou and Sakura broke free from their teammates, leaving Kirishima and Sero to deal with the cement on their own. Sakura's eyes flashed green in power, and on top of her Bakugou's hand spark dangerously.

" Tsuburaba!" Monoma suddenly shouted out. And the boy now known as Tsuburaba blew up a circular window that appeared out of no where in front of Sakura.

" As if you assholes!" Sakura shouted, now using only one hand to carry Bakugou as the other was pulled back before she swung it forward. Her fist collided with the glass wall and the wall broke into pieces. And as if on cue, Bakugou reached forward and grabbed the headbands around Monoma's neck.

In time, Bakugou had managed to steal two headbands from Team Monoma. Quickly Sakura jumped back so that Monoma could no longer attack to get his headbands back, and either to her disappointment or pleasure, Monoma commanded his team to run away.

" Hey Firecracker! What do you want to do now? We're in third place at the moment, do you want to continue to chase after Monoma?" Sakura asked, as Bakugou adjusted himself so he was sitting on her shoulders like a kids.

" We're not down with that bastard just yet!" Bakugou replied, putting his hands around Sakura's head and turning it into the direction of Monoma's team. " Lets go!"

" Hold on tight Firecracker!" Sakura warned as she guided the flow of power into her whole body, spreading out her Quirk into all the direction of her veins. And without another word, the pinkette took off with a speed that Bakugou had trouble staying on.

She let go of Bakugou's leg as he started to stand up of her shoulders. With her rhythmic running steps, Bakugou was able to balance on her shoulders with no trouble. Suddenly, Sakura grabbed Bakugou's ankles with both hand, and while still running, the pinkette swung the boy around her to build up momentum.

After she was sure she had build up enough power, She let go of the boy so he went flying at Team Monoma. As Bakugou swept passed Monoma's head, he grabbed ahold of the rest of the headbands from his's head and Sakura was off chasing after Bakugou to catch him from falling.

And just in time, Sakura was able to catch Bakugou and throw him up in the air so he could reposition himself back onto her shoulders. As Bakugo secure himself so he didn't go flying off, Sakura made her way back to the rest of the team.

" Hurry up you two, we still need to go after Deku and the Half and Half Bastard." Bakugou barked, a satisfied smirk on his face when he saw that they were second.

After the team had gotten their positions back on track, they quickly made their way over to where Midoriya's and Todorki's team were. But as they neared Midoriya, Bakugou took off alone once more, leaving his teammates behind.

But by this time, the time limit had ended and the fifteen minutes passed. So as Bakugou charged at Todorki, his pursue was a waste and within the next few seconds, the timer of the battle rang throughout the arena, signaling the end of the second game.

" Lets now take a look at the top four teams!" Present Mic declared. " In first place we have Team Todoroki! In second, we have Team Bakugou! In third, Team Shinso! And last but not least, in fourth place we have Team Midoriya!"

" That's enough excitement for the first two games. Lets now have a little lunch break." Midnight suggested as she walked away.

Just as Sakura was about to walk over to the lunch room to refill her energy with Team Bakugou so they could celebrate their second place win, Todoroki approached her. At time to time, the boy would glance up at the stand before talking to Sakura.

" Can I talk to you?" Todoroki asked casually without another word of explanation.

" Uh sure." Sakura nodded dumbly, not knowing how to answer someone who had declare war on her at the beginning of the sports festival. But whatever he wanted, it had to be important because when Todoroki led her over to a more private place, Midoriya was there as well.

" Sakura? What are you doing here too?" Midoriya asked the pinkette who seemed just as confused as him.

Sakura shook her head, telling him she didn't know either. Instead, Sakura looked Todoroki dead in the eye, tired of what game he was playing at asking both her and Midoriya to meet him in private. And right before the last game no doubt. " What's going on?"

Sakura's eyes suddenly flashed green at Todoroki, surprising Midoriya who thought she was about to use her Quirk to attack Todoroki. Todoroki on the other hand suddenly grew frost on his right side that built up into ice, and as he breathed in and out, the air got colder.

This was going to be the first time the two's energy clash against each other. Whether it was the last depends on their decisions.


	14. Series I: Fourteen

For as long as Sakura had known Todoroki, he always seemed like the dominate type considering how his Quirk wasn't something to play around with. And of course not to mention he was the son of the world's second best hero, Endeavor. But when the coldness coming off of Todoroki vanished, it left Sakura and mild surprise as to why he stepped down.

" I didn't ask you to come here to fight, not with you or Midoriya." Todoroki said despite his piercing gaze. " You weren't there Haruno, but Midoriya and some classmates figured out that I don't use my left side in battle, ever."

Sakura leaned against the wall behind her, not knowing what Todoroki was getting at. But the way Midoriya's eyes were distance made whatever Todoroki was going to say worth while enough for the pinkette to stay silent to hear him out.

" Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Iida, and Kaminari didn't feel it." Todoroki went on. " But when Midoriya attacked, I felt overpowered. It was the same feeling I got when I witness All Might's strength when he went up against Nomu during the villain's attack."

Sakura let out sigh, hating the stalling. " And what do you mean by that? What are you getting at Todoroki?"

" Don't play dumb Haruno, I'm positive you know what's going on between Midoriya and All Might. Why on earth would I get that feeling from both of them?" Todoroki said. " Midoriya...are you All Might's secret love child or something? And you, Haruno, are you the result of another affair of All Might's as well?"

There was a sudden silence that dare not to be broken. While Todoroki waited for an answer from the two, Sakura and Midoriya were too shock. Finally, after finding her voice, Sakura let out a cough that drew the two boy's attention over to her.

" I am the only child of Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno of Konoha. I met All Might a few years ago through my mentor when I was around thirteen." Sakura informed seriously. " I assure you Todoroki, All Might and I share no DNA in that way. And I'm sure you'll like to know that Deku is his parent's child and not All Might's as well."

" Y-yeah! Wait, is this what you meant by All Might having his eyes on us in the waiting room? Th-that's not how it is, I swear!" Midoriya said getting all flustered at the accusation. " And if anything, I have a question for _you_ , why do you think that about me?"

However, Todoroki made no sign of hearing Midoriya's question. Instead the boy fired yet another round of claims at the two. " You denied it with a _that's not how it is,_ so I think it's safe to say that there is a connect between you two. One where you can't speak of...My old man is Endeavor."

Sakura nodded slowing, showing that she heard him but now understanding why he was pulling the fact up. " Yeah, I've heard."

" And I'm sure you've also heard that he's been stuck as the number two hero for forever." Todoroki replied. " If One of you have something from the number one Hero, whether it's his DNA or even his teaching, then I have one more reason to beat both of you. In his youth, he wasn't able to take the name of the world's number one hero, so he moved onto his plan B."

Midoriya and Sakura turned to each other, giving one another a look of confusion. One minute he was going on about them being the secret love child of All Might, another he was explaining some sort of plan of Endeavor's. But one thing was for sure, Todoroki despised his father.

" You guys have heard of Quirk Marriages, right?" Todoroki suddenly asked the two. " That thing become a problem for the second and third generation after the supernatural appeared. It meant choosing a spouse based on their Quirk for the sole purpose of passing it on to their children.

Sakura let out a small gasp that was soon covered by her hands. The Uchiha Clan, Sasuke's clan, was basically infested with this exact thought. And although Sasuke's parents found some sort of love in their marriages, it couldn't be said for other couples. The worst part was, it was still happening to this day.

" My father is a man with both the power and money. With those two traits, he was able to get a hold over my mother's quirk. That's the only reason why i'm here. To be a Hero that surpasses All Might because my father wasn't able to do it." Todoroki spat out the words like poison. " But I won't become a tool for scum like that."

Sakura didn't know why, but at this point she wanted to cry. Not for herself but for the broken boy before her that was battling with himself. To denying a half of yourself because of what the left side represent, Todoroki truly was broken.

" In my memories, my mother is always crying. _Your left side is unsightly_ , my mother once said as she poured boiling hot water on me." Todoroki raised a hand and covered the burnt part of his face, the left side that he hated so much. " That's why I'm going to win first place while showing my damned old man that I'm rejecting his Quirk."

Just as Sakura was about to take a step toward Todoroki, to do what, she didn't know, Uraraka and Asui came running over to them from the distance. Their yelling got the three quiet as they got closer.

" Sakura-chan! Yaoyorozu's calling all the girls from our class right now. She says it's really important for an event she forgot about!" Uraraka informed, grabbing a hold of the pinkette's arm and dragging her away. " Sorry guys, but we need to go right now!"

" W-wait!" Sakura called after Uraraka, wanting to say something to Todoroki before she was swept away. But it was no use, both Asui and Uraraka were determined to get the pinkette to the rest of the girls. After they got into the building, Sakura was able to ask what was going on. " What's Yaoyorozu calling us for?"

" I'm not really sure, but it's really -ribbit- important considering how Yaoyorozu asked -ribbit- us to look for you five minutes ago." Asui replied, slowing down from their run.

Suddenly, both Asui and Sakura felt the pull of their P.E. uniform by Uraraka who was staring at something a head of them. " You guys, look! It's Endeavor, the number two hero and Todoroki's father."

As the three girl walked by Endeavor, who seemed to act as if he as too important to say anything to them, Sakura's eyes trailed on the Hero. Asui and Uraraka were too distracted to notice that their friend had stop walking and was still staring at Endeavor as they continue on to walk away.

As Uraraka and Asui turned a corner, Sakura had caught the attention of Endeavor who had also stop in his track. During this current time, the hallway was empty and only Sakura and Endeavor occupied it.

" Do you want an autograph or something, student of Tsunade?" Endeavor snarled. " Or would you like me to call you pupil of All Might instead?"

Sakura glared at the man, turning her whole body around so she was now fully facing him. " You can call me Sakura Haruno, it's my given name. And you'll have an even bigger reason to remember me when I win this whole damn festival."

And with that said, the pinkette turned on her heels and walked away. She didn't turn back, not caring if her words had anger the pro or that she had spoken disrespectfully to a man looked up to by many. The fact that this man was such a horrible father figure was enough for her to loose respect for him.

" Sakura-chan, why are you still out here? Come on, come on, we're running out of time!" Uraraka said popping up and pushing Sakura into the changing room, making it so that Sakura wasn't even able to see what her friend was wearing. " Put this on, and meet us outside in the stadium. And be quick, lunch is almost over."

As the rest of the girls left, leaving the pinkette to stare at the neatly folded clothing, Sakura picked up a clothing and carefully examine it. Orange, white and green, not to mention that they somewhat reminded her of a cheer outfit. But not wanting to be late to the important event, Sakura slipped into the outfit without another thought.

On the way out, she caught sight of a bundle of yellow and quickly brought it with her. Finally, once she was out in the open, she spotted the girl from Class A and her jaw dropped. The pinkette frantically looked down at what she was wearing and fell face first on the ground.

" What is going on?!" Present Mic questioned from above. " Are the girls from Class A doing some sort of fan service for us?!

Growing flustered from the attention, Sakura made her way over to Uraraka who seemed just as confused " Ochaco! What did you get me into now?!"

" Sakura-chan, I have no idea what's going on either, I swear! Mineta and Kaminari told us we were having a cheer battle with the other girls, but when we came out, everyone was staring!" Uraraka defended, hugging the pinkette around the neck.

Sakura held up a clenched fist, her eyes narrowed into a glare. " Those two idiots!"

" All right everyone! Lets now introduce the final game of the festival!" Present Mic shouted, drawing the attention to him instead. " After the recreational games, the sixteen players from the four teams will duke it out tournament style! One-on-one!"

" Now, lets draw see who's up against who on the first round." Midnight said, appearing with a box of the names of the four teams in it. " Once it's determined, we'll have some fun with some side games to loosen the tension. For the side games, the sixteen players can decide is they want to play or not."

From behind Sakura, someone suddenly called for attention. Ojiro had risen his hand and was now asking if he could step down from the tournament. " I just can't be up there without even knowing how I got there in the first place."

" W-wait!" Another student called out. " I'm from Class B and I would also like to withdraw from the final challenge. I don't remember doing anything to get me to where I am, and I feel like it goes against the goal of this whole festival. That's why I'm asking for this."

" What's up with these guys! They're so manly!" Kirishima declared from Sakura's side. " Now if only everyone could be like that!"

From Aizawa's side, Present Mic debated what to do. But in the end, he handed the matter over to Midnight who had yet to say anything. "...Youthful talk such as this, I like! I allow the withdraw from both of you, Ojiro, Shoda!"

" Alright, you heard her!" Present Mic cheered. " But if that's the case, we'll have to move two students up from the fifth place calvary team."

But there was yet another twist when the fifth place team turned down the offer and instead handed the opportunity over to Team Tetsutetsu to which two of the players from _that_ team gladly accepted. After a while of waiting for Midnight to determine the battles, the bracket was finally displayed for everyone to see.

Sakura's eyes searched for her name, and when she found it, she saw that she was paired up against her class's deputy representative, Momo Yaoyorozu. To the pinkette's surprise, her match came to speak to her.

" Haruno? I can't lie, but I've always wanted to go up against you after we tied for deputy representative." Yaoyorozu declared. " That is why I'm going to give it my all during our one-on-one. I hope you can accept my request for you to do the same as well."

" I wouldn't have it any other way Yaoyorozu." Sakura returned with a determined look. " I know full well you're capable of putting up a fight. So don't worry, I won't be giving you any advantages by. May the better women win."

With that said, the pinkette held out her hand to shake to which Yaoyorozu took it with a smile. After awhile, the recreational games started and many of the sixteen players left to do their own things. Sakura, however, stayed behind and did some cheers with Uraraka, wanting to get her mind off her match.

But even shouting and jumping couldn't get her mind to shut up from it's constant demands of nervousness. It wasn't that she didn't think she couldn't win, it was more of the fact that many Pros around the world would be there, watching, observing. Uraraka stopped cheering after noticing that Sakura stopped waving her pompoms around.

" Are you nervous, Sakura-chan?" Uraraka asked. " Don't be, I'm sure you'll do amazing. If anything, I should be the one nervous. I'm going up against Bakugou."

" Firecracker?" Sakura wondered out loud, causing Uraraka to look down at her feet with a sad smile. Curious as to why her friend was suddenly giving off a dejected smile, the pinkette placed a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder. " What's wrong?"

" Nothing, just that I'm worried about my match against Bakugou. I mean, he's really strong, not to mention that he's kind of crazy." Uraraka replied. " He didn't even know who I was, and it just showed how little my presence is even though we're in the same class, learning the same things."

Sakura frowned at Uraraka's word. " I know you Ochaco. And I also know Firecracker, and from what I've seen, he likes to underestimate those he goes up against. And unless you give him a reason not to, he'll forget who you are. But I'm positive you'll leave an impression."

" Thanks Sakura-chan." Uraraka smiled widely. " Now come on, lets cheer a bit more. I think it's helping me with my nerves."

At this, the pinkette laughed softly before waving her hands. " Nah, I think I'm going to find a place to work out a strategy. Yaoyorozu is known for being smart, and there's no doubt she figured out a weakness of mine. Well, see you Ochaco. And one more thing, I'll be cheering you on as well."

The pinkette walked away and went into the changing room to change out of the cheer outfit. Quickly she slipped back into the sweatpants and jacket uniform of U.A.'s P.E. uniform. As she walked out, she spotted a familiar bob of hair.

" Firecracker?" Sakura asked, causing the said boy to look over to her. " What are you doing in the hallway?"

The boy didn't reply for some time and instead went back to facing the wall. But after a minute or two, he let out a harsh sigh. " I'm sharpening my senses. This is where out battles begins to really matter. But you don't need me to tell you that so you better not expect me to go into a heart felt back story of mine."

It took some time for the girl to realized why he said that, but when she did, her tone became sharper. " You were eavesdropping on us." The girl simply said, not wanting to scold at the boy for his rudeness.

" It doesn't matter. He shouldn't even be declaring war on Deku, that damn nerd. I'll show him, I'll show them all! I'm not going to be someone anyone can just over look." Bakugou snarled. " I _will_ become number one."

" And I know you have the ability to achieve that." Sakura replied gently. " Well, I better get going. I'd wish you good luck, but I know you don't need it."

After saying that, the pinkette walked away. But just as she turned a corner, she heard Bakugou calling something after her. Whatever it was, it created a smile on the pinkette's face that lit up her features. Humming slightly after that encounter, Sakura ditched the idea of a strategy and instead made her way over to Uraraka once more.

" Over here, come sit down!" Uraraka shouted, patting the seat beside her. " Deku's match is just about to start!"

Sakura grinned when she saw the said boy facing off Shinso, the purpled haired boy who had declared war on the whole Class A. Uraraka, now noticing Sakura's change of aura curiously looked at the pinkette with her face in a sort of thinking position.

" You seem much more calmer now Sakura-chan. Did you think of a strategy to blow away both Momo-chan and the audience?" Uraraka asked with a small admiration in her tone.

" No, someone just reminded me of my ability is all." Sakura replied, eyes big in excitement. If anything, she decided to not go with a strategy considering how she didn't want her action to be too predictable. And beside, just like Bakugou told her, she didn't need luck. All she did need however, was one punch.

One punch to win her match and dominate the court.


	15. Series I: Fifteen

Down on the court, Midoriya struggled deciding what his next actions were going to be. Shinso on the other hand seemed to be only talking with Midoriya, not really taking any attacks into consideration. Then, it hit Sakura that she didn't even know the kind of Quirk Shinso had.

" What's he doing to Deku?" Sakura mumbled to herself when she realized that all that Shinso was doing was asking questions.

From behind the pinkette, Ojiro spoke up with a tone of experience. " That's the strategy he's going with. During the calvary battle, he asked me to join his team, but after I had agreed, I have no clue what happened after that. His Quirk is mind control, but It includes getting a verbal sort of response from his target."

" So you're telling us that Shinso is basically unstoppable once he gets a hold of Deku?" Uraraka asked worriedly. " That's why you asked to talk to him, right? To warn him of Shinso's Mind Control Quirk so Deku knows what's he dealing with?"

" Yes, but it nows depends on Midoriya's will power to resist answering any of Shinso's questions." Ojiro replied. " But from my own experience, I know it's going to be hard."

Sakura frowned, not at the statement but what Shinso was saying to Midoriya down in the arena. Abruptly, the pinkette stood up when she saw Midoriya charging over to Shinso, his mouth moving so they formed words.

" What did you say!?" Midoriya demanded to know, his question loud and clear as it rang throughout the stadium.

And it wasn't just Sakura who had jumped up in frustration, Ojiro had also stood up, his face wincing in second-handed pain. " I warned him not to answer anything that he said! I even went though the trouble of going through a sort of plan with him!"

From where she stood, Sakura made out the figure of Midoriya suddenly stopping in his track. She clenched her fist, not liking the silence down there. Deep down, she was wishing with all her heart that she had not actually seen Midoriya talking. Because if he had, this would be the round Midoriya was eliminated at.

" Eh?! What is going on down there!? Why have Midoriya suddenly grown frozen!?" Present Mic ask to grow the tension in the crowd. And it didn't help Sakura's headache when Shinso suddenly commanded Midoriya to walk out of bounds. " Could this be Shinso's Quirk?!"

" Hitoshi Shinso has a powerful Quirk, but he was at a disadvantage during the entrance exam since it favored the ones with physical attack type Quirks." Aizawa informed, speaking up f0r the first time. " He probably enrolled into General Studies knowing that he could be transferred into the hero course."

Meanwhile, down on the stage, Midoriya had begun to walk toward the out bound, his face in a daze. Sakura didn't know what to do, whether to encourage Midoriya or to just accept that the boy's chance had passed away.

" What is this!?" Present Mic roared as Midoriya drew nearer to the edge. " Is Midoriya no match for Shinso's mind control?!"

The pinkette eyes were wide in frustration, and before she knew it, she had ran over to the front row seats of her section and clenched the railings tightly. Trembling slightly, Sakura brought her hand up to her mouth and cupped it around her lips.

" Deku!" Sakura shouted over the crowd with all her might. " You inspire me to do my best you brat! So quit fooling around and beat that asshole! Do you hear me, Deku you idiot!? How are you going to become big if you lose right now?! Fight, fight and win!"

Sakura stopped yelling as she panted for breath. But it took only a second before she started to shout loudly once more. And with each insult she threw at him, the pinkette made sure that her encouragements were twice as powerful and loud.

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes landed on the skinny man down in the arena as well, hiding in one of the hallways that led to the stage. All Might seemed to be fighting with himself deep in his mind, but it was clear on the Pro's face that his faith in Midoriya was in no way wavering. He was going to be proud of Midoriya no matter the outcome.

" Deku!" Sakura screamed once more, putting in the anger that he dared to even move toward the boundary, the proudness that she felt for her brother figure, and the admiration she felt for the boy who smiled in the face of danger in that one word.

But, no matter what the pinkette screamed out, Midoriya was dead set on walking out of bounds. The crowd was deadly silent, and Sakura had grown tired of yelling. The defeat in her eyes were clear when she realized that her words had no effect on Midoriya's action.

The girl's hand slowly left the cupped position as they made their way back to her sides, limp and defeated. Her eyes were no longer wide in tension, instead they were downcast and shadowed by the feeling of lost.

But then, just as Midoriya was about to cross the line, his finger twitch and he spun around, creating powerful blades of wind that caused those down on the stage to cover their face. Sakura look up with a start, and when she realized what was going on, she was the first to let out a cheer that rippled across the stadium.

" That's what I'm talking about Deku!" Sakura shouted, smiling widely as she punched the air with her clenched fist.

Behind the pinkette, Ojiro let out a sigh of relief, Iida jumped up in proudness, and Uraraka placed a hand on her heart as she also let out a sigh of relief. With that done, the crowd erupted in sudden cheers, either glad that Midoriya hadn't been eliminated or that there was going to be an actual fight.

" W-what?! You shouldn't be able to move around freely!" Shinso argued as Midoriya advanced on him. " What did you do? How did you do it? You're able to produce that much power with only your finger? I'm jealous."

Sakura smiled when Midoriya made no sign of going to answer the purple haired boy. Thankfully, Midoriya learned his lesson and wasn't going to make the same mistake again. But what Shinso was saying caused something to stir in the pinkette.

" People such as you and Haruno are blessed to have such powerful Quirks!" Shinso declared.

What Shinso had just said was like a slap to the face. Sakura looked down at her hands and stared in horror. Here she was, pretending that her Quirk was something that it wasn't. Although she didn't say it right out, keeping silent about what her Quirk actually was, was like lying all the same.

She wasn't blessed with a powerful Quirk, but she was blessed with people who believed in her and found the time to shape her into someone who was strong. Some people didn't have that kind of luxury like her.

But that's why she needed to do her best in everything that she met on her way to becoming the next number one hero. To say thanks to those who put their time into her, and to inspire the generation after her. And to start all that, she needed to introduce herself to the world.

While Sakura was in deep thoughts, she didn't notice the fight going on down below. She didn't see Shinso punch Midoriya, nor did she see how Midoriya kept on pushing Shinso closer and closer to the out line. But what she didn't miss was when Midoriya shoulder tossed Shinso out of bounds, winning his match.

" And the winner of the first one-on-one battle is Izuku Midoriya from Hero Course Class A!" Present Mic declared.

" He did it Sakura-chan! Deku won!" Uraraka cheered.

But at the moment, the pinkette wasn't paying attention to Midoriya, instead, her eyes were on Shinso and Shinso alone. As the purple haired boy walked away, Sakura had an urge to call out to him. So she did, loud and clear.

" Hey, you asshole!" Sakura called out grinning. " Your Quirk's amazing! I really hope you get transfer into Hero Course! Better yet, join Class A, we'd love to have someone with such potential! So don't give up, okay?! Even though you're still a dumbass, you deserve a chance!"

Shinso looked up at the girl with wide eyes, but he didn't say anything and instead turned around and just continued on to walk away. But the thing was, he didn't need to say anything back to the pinkette, the shock look on his face was enough for Sakura.

But as Shinso neared the exit, the students from his course cheered him on as well. And before Sakura knew it, Shinso was yet again declaring some sort of war, but this time, it was everyone from the Hero Course. When he finished, he walked away with his head held high.

" I hope Recovery Girl fixed Deku up." Uraraka said worriedly. " I think He had broken two of his finger when he had broken free from Shinso's mind control."

Sakura let out a yawned as she made her way out. " Don't worry, I'll go check on him and bring him here."

As Sakura wandered the hall leading to Recovery Girl's office, she saw a familiar figure from behind. Smiling, she quickly ran over to him and jumped on his back, tightening her hold around his neck so he had trouble breathing.

" Firecracker!" Sakura cheered loudly. " What are you doing out here by yourself?"

Bakugou fought against the pinkette's hold, but it was no use, she was determine to get a ride on his back. " Get off me Bubblegum! What are you even doing here? Isn't it suppose to be you match next? You'll be late at this rate, and when you are, don't blame me."

" I forgot!" Sakura said, getting ready to jump off Bakugou. But then she stopped as if she just remembered who she was on. " But I trust you Firecracker. I trust you enough to believe you'll get me to my match in time. So come on, onward!"

" Damnit Bubblegum!" Bakugou shouted as he started to run. " You know full well if you're too late you'll get eliminated! Fuck, why don't _you_ run instead?! You'll be able to get there faster if you used your Quirk!"

" Just run!" Sakura encouraged, pounding on the boy's hand. " Faster Firecracker, or we'll be late!"

Bakugou's pace quickened, and his cursing got louder in the heat of the moment. Despite the fact that it wasn't even his match, Bakugou was determined to get the pinkette on his back to her battle on time. He didn't know why, but he just really wanted her to get there before it was too late.

Finally, they reached the end of the hall and all Sakura had to do was step out into the opened. As Sakura got off the boy, Bakugou leaned against the wall to catch his breathe, his eyes narrowed at the girl before him.

" Don't ever, and I mean ever, make me run for you again." Bakugou hissed. " Now get out there, you have a match to win."

Sakura turned her back on the boy as she stepped out, her hand held out so she was pointing her thumb at herself. " Sure, sure. Don't worry, I'll make sure I advance so you have a real challenge in the semi-finals."

With that said, Sakura walked onto the stage and greeted Yaoyorozu with an intense look that roar with determination. Off to the side, Midnight let out a cough that signaled whoever was in charge of it to release the fireworks on the corners of the stage.

" She's a angel, she's a demon, she's Sakura Haruno from the Hero Course Class 1-A!" Present Mic introduce, pounding his fist on his desk. " Momo Yaoyorozu, also Hero Course! A recommended student with the skills of a pro! Here, these two beauty faces off to determine who will advance on next!"

The moment Present Mic gave the signal that the battle had begun, Sakura was off charging at Yaoyorozu with her fist pulled back. As Sakura's fist collided with Yaoyorozu, blades of air rippled across the stage, knocking Midnight off her feet and the walls to crack slightly.

However, to Sakura's surprise, when the dust cleared, Yaoyorozu had her arm held up in a defensive pose, a sort of shield where Sakura had punched her. Realizing that the punch she gave the girl was a fail, Sakura jumped back to where she had started off.

" You're known for your punches in the classroom, that's why I came prepared." Yaoyorozu said breathless, not expecting the attack to be _that_ powerful that she felt a shiver run through her body. " I won't be going down that easy."

" Good, I really appreciate a challenge once in awhile." Sakura returned, admiring Yaoyorozu for being a step ahead of her.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise when Yaoyorozu was the first to attack this time. The black haired girl produced a metal rod from her palm and it went aiming at Sakura. Quickly Sakura grabbed a hold of it once it was inches from her face.

Her hold had forced the rod from growing, and tightening her fingers around the object, Sakura crushed it between her fingers, destroying the half of the rod that was on her side. Without another word, The pinkette stomped her right foot, creating a fissure.

But her action was too predictable and Yaoyorozu was able to get out right on time by using another metal rod to lift herself out. The pinkette bit her lips, finding it harder to get a good hit in. Yaoyorozu on the other hand, landed back down and steadied herself.

At the same time, Sakura struck the ground with her fist. The stage cracked and split into different sections, and from the cracks rosed thick dust that turned into a sort of fog. Sakura quickly raced to where she last saw Yaoyorozu, but when she got there, the girl was no where in sight.

" Over here!" Yaoyorozu called out, surprising the pinkette by throwing a handful of flash grenade in her direction.

With one swift movement, Sakura closed her eyes shut and covered and face. Knowing that if she continued to stand still in place, Yaoyorozu would have the chance to push her out so the girl jumped up, getting out of the flashing bombs and over Yaoyorozu's head.

" That's right Haruno, jump! Jump as if your life depends on it!" Present Mic interject, jumping out of his seat abruptly and making some poses with his hands.

" That was lucky." Sakura said, ignoring the Pro's antics and getting into a stance. " But I'm afraid your luck have now ran out."

Sakura's eyes glowed an intense green as she guided the flow of her Quirk into her legs. She burst forward with an incredible speed, disturbing the calm air, and she aimed a punch at Yaoyorozu's cheek.

The attack sent the girl flying over the border and crashing into the stadium's wall. The section Yaoyorozu was sent flying into swayed and threatened to fall over, but everyone found the excitement to cheer, thinking that the pinkette won the match.

But instead of celebrating, Sakura frantically looked around in search of something. The place she had punched was way too soft to be a person, and the fact that Sakura had heard no bones cracking made her positive that she had not punched Yaoyorozu.

" Oh ho ho!" Present Mic shouted. " It seemed our little Blossom got tricked! A smart move, nice Yaoyorozu!"

The crowd screamed louder then ever, going wild over the fact that this battle was far more interesting then the last one between Midoriya and Shinso. Meanwhile, Sakura finally spotted her opponent off in the right corner, her hands ready to produce something.

" Smart." Sakura commented. " This is going on longer then I had intended for it to be. If only she wasn't playing with tricks!"

The pinkette wasted no time in attacking once more. But this time, she made sure her speed was twice as fast so Yaoyorozu had no time to think up of a plan or create anything that would help her out. Sakura pulled her fist back, ready to stretch it out and collide it against Yaoyorozu's stomach.

But the darn girl moved down, trying to get away by ducking. So instead of getting Yaoyorozu in the abdomen, Sakura got the girl on the cheek. The results were just like the first time, but this time, Sakura did feel the bones cracking under her fist.

As Yaoyorozu sailed over the border line and into a stand, Sakura was left praying that she hadn't actually broke Yaoyoroku's jaw. But with a punch that packed with power, the outcome was ugly and unwanted. Yaoyorozu didn't get back up, and was declared unconscious by Midnight a few minutes later.

" The winner is Sakura Haruno!" Present Mic screamed into his microphone, causing it to screech. " Lets make some noise for this exciting battle!"

But the request was uncalled for considering how the crowd was already going wild all over again, but this time, twice as loud. Sakura grinned sheepishly when she noticed Uraraka cheering loudly while waving her pompoms around. And next to her, Midoriya was grinning and shaking a pompom as well with one hand.

But then, across the pinkette stood a man in a hallway with his hand held up in a thumbs up. All Might stood proudly before he started to move his mouth to form words that were not heard over the crowd's cheering. But it didn't need to be, Sakura read his lips loud and clear.

 _" I'm proud of you."_

After a few more seconds of fame, Sakura only now remembered the girl who was being taken away on a stretcher. Quickly, Sakura made her way over to Yaoyorozu, and just as she was about to heal the girl, Midnight stopped the pinkette from doing so.

" Don't worry Haruno, Recovery Girl has got her." Midnight said, winking at Sakura. " It's best if you rest your strength for your next match."

" Thank you!" Sakura returned, smiling widely. " Tell Recovery Girl to inform Yaoyorozu I'm sorry I had punched her so hard."

With that said, Sakura ran down the halls and made her way to Uraraka, Iida, and Midoriya. The moment the three saw her, they burst into claps that were far too enthusiastic. Sakura hushed them down to which their actions only grew louder.

" I swear, you three are impossible." Sakura laughed. " Ah! I was suppose to get you! Sorry Deku!"

Midoriya only patted the seat next to him for her to sit down. " It's fine, I knew you had a match after mine so I came to watch it as fast as I could. You did amazing by the way. Those punches of yours were really scary though."

" Stop, you're making me blush." The pinkette joked as she sat down. When she looked back onto the stage that she was just on, she only now realized that Cementoss was rebuilding it due to the damages she brought onto it. " So who's up next?"

" I believe it's Todoroki and Sero next. Look, they're making their way out right now." Iida replied, pointing out the two boys. " The stage is almost done, so they'll be on within minutes. I wonder who's going to come out victorious from this match. Todoroki seems to have the upper hand."

Sakura had to agree with the taller boy. After five minutes of waiting, Todoroki and Sero stepped into the ring. The look on Todoroki's face was different Sakura thought, it was far more intense and angry. As if an event had taken place during the pinkette's and Yaoyorozu's battle.

" We now have Shouto Todoroki, the boy who took third in the first game and first in the second!" Present Mic introduced as usual. " And on the other side is Hanta Sero, he's good. Good! But what's with this plainness he can't get rid of?! Let the battle, begin!"

The moment the battle started, Sero immediately wrapped Todoroki around with some of his tapes. Once bounded, Sero swung Todoroki over to one side and it seemed Sero had some sort of luck. But it wasn't long before Todoroki created some ice from his feet.

One second Sakura blinked, the next she found ice inches from her face after feeling the ground shake. Startled, the pinkette let out a yelp. The whole stadium that she was on was covered in a sort of ice glacier that poked out of the arena.

" W-what is this!?" Present Mic exclaimed, surprised by such a huge attack.

Slowly, Todoroki made his way over to the base of the ice and melted it. And with out saying anything else, the boy walked off the stage. Sakura stared at the boy's back as he retreated, the shock barely melting away. This was a whole new level of power, a level that Sakura wasn't sure she could handle.

She needed to watch out for Todoroki. But for some reason, deep down she wanted nothing more then to figure the boy out.


	16. Series I: Sixteen

After Todoroki's match, nothing interested the Pinkette much. And when Kaminari's and Shiozaki's match started, Sakura found herself getting up from her seat to make her way over to Class A's player one waiting room. Once there, she silently sat down before laying her head on the table.

She was curious about Todoroki, that much was for sure. His past was one that wasn't ordinary, but the way he said he was going to reject his left side didn't sit right with the pinkette. No one should have to feel that way about what makes them unique. What more was that Todoroki's left side wasn't really his father's like he described it was, it was his and his alone.

" Boys are so complicated." Sakura mumbled to herself, remembering Bakugou's rage toward Midoriya and how she was given yet another name to put on her list of confusing boys. " But I guess I shouldn't be saying that considering my Quirk."

Letting out a sigh, Sakura closed her eyes shut. Today was just so tiring for her, if anything Sakura still hadn't have lunch since Todorki asked to speak with her and then there was the whole cheerleader plan from Mineta and Kaminari. Deciding that it was about time she got lunch, Sakura got up from her seat and made her way to the door.

" What the..." Bakugou said when Sakura opened the door, revealing the boy trying to get in. " What the hell are you doing here by yourself?"

" I just needed some time to think." The pinkette replied with a smile. " I'm heading over to the eatery to see if they have anything since I hadn't have lunch yet. Join me?"

Bakugou shrugged his shoulders uncaringly as he moved out of the pinkette's way. The two made their way over to the lunch room to find some left over food that had yet to be consume. Seeing them, Lunch Rush welcomed the two students with a happy wave of his hand before getting a tray for each of them.

Sakura curiously looked over the options of food before ordering. " I'll just have some curry." And as Lunch Rush filled a bowl of the said food for Sakura, the pinkette turned to Bakugou who had decided on the same menu. "So what were you going to do at the waiting room Firecracker?"

Bakugou grabbed both Sakura's and his own lunch in each hand after it was done and walked over to a table, the pinkette walking beside him with a smile on her face at the fact that Bakugou's habit of carrying her food tray had lingered. As they sat down, Bakugou stared at the pinkette bluntly.

" What's wrong?" Sakura asked when the boy kept silent despite her questions. " Are you not feeling well?"

" You won." Bakugou plainly replied. " You do realize that if you win against your next opponent you'll go up against me, right? I'm warning you now Bubblegum, I won't hold back even though we had teamed up for the calvary battle."

Sakura let out a laugh, sticking her spoon in her lunch and letting it stand like that. " Oh please, I of all people should know just how determine you are about winning. Don't worry Firecracker, I know full well we'll both have to give it our all. No holding back to the both of us."

" Good cause i'm going to fucking win!" Bakugou declared, stabbing a piece of meat with a fork and shoving it in his mouth. " I'll advance on and destroy Deku and the Half-and-half Bastard both!"

Sakura gave the boy a fake offended look. " Excuse me? What about me? Aren't you worry I'll beat you during our fight?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders as he downed a glass of water. " You tell me. All that I know is that there is no way in hell I'm going to lose to anyone. Not to you, or to Deku. I will win and become number one."

As Sakura placed a curry filled spoon in her mouth one after another, her mind wandered off to who's match was happening and who would be advancing on. She was confident enough to believe she could get pass her second match, but her third might be a challenge considering how it would be up against Bakugou of all people.

And to be completely honest, the pinkette had no idea how to deal with Bakugou beside just hoping her punches would land on him while he was distracted or something. But she won't lose, at least just not yet.

" How did you make it this far?" Bakugou suddenly asked, placing his fork down. " Your were just another girl until I went up against you fist handed. But I'm now over here, sitting and eating lunch wondering how the fuck did someone as frail looking as you managed to get this strong."

The pinkette faked a gasped at Bakugou's comment. " Firecracker! Did you just acknowledged me? Are you perhaps getting soft?"

" Just answer the question damnit." Bakugou cursed, avoiding eye contact. " I only want to know how you got strong, not that I'm getting soft, which i'm not. Beside, it's only right to acknowledge what deserve to be recognize."

Sighing, Sakura propped her chin on the table in deep thoughts. " I suppose I should start my saying my Quirk isn't what it seems. It's far beyond being strong, and to put it simply, it's one of the weakest Quirk out there if it's not trained properly.

Lady Tsunade became my mentor after I decided to actually become serious about my Hero Training. Before that though, I was just a girl with her head filled with air, thinking she was higher above everyone. I didn't even notice how the Dead Last of the class was trying to improve despite the criticism."

At this, Sakura paused, thinking about her twelve year old self was flooding her with memories that weren't pleasant to her current self. Everything she had said was true, from having her head filled with air to the last part about Naruto.

" My Quirk isn't super strength or the ability to heal." Sakura continued on, ignoring Bakugo's silent stares. " It's called Chakra. It basically means that within me, around the chest area mainly, Quirk energy is swirling around. Lady Tsunade taught me how to direct that energy through out my body and how to let it travel out when it makes contact with an object, resulting in my super strength."

There was yet another quiet moment, and this time, the pinkette had nothing more to explain. But then, after five minutes, Bakugo reached across from him and grabbed ahold of Sakura's tray before sliding it over to his side.

" If you're done, come on. Lets get ready for our battles together." Bakugou plainly said, stacking his tray on top of Sakura's. " I'm tired of hearing your background story."

" Hey! You were the one who wanted to know!" Sakura huffed behind Bakugou who had handed the trays over to Lunch Rush as he made his way out of the eatery and toward the waiting room once more. " Are you listening to me Firecracker?! Slow down!"

Bakugou refused to say anything to the girl until they got back into the waiting room. And once they were in, the boy started to stretch while Sakura watch him do so after pulling up a chair off to Bakugou's right.

" Honestly, sometimes I feel like I don't even know you." Sakura sighed. " One minute you're angry, another you're going off and giving me the silent treatment. Fine then, while you stretch, I'm going to go check on the match. Don't worry though Firecracker, I'll be back."

As Sakura exited the room and made her way over to where the stadiums were, she found herself wondering about Bakugou. He was different from all of the boys she had met. But then again, Todoroki was also another example of someone different.

" Sakura-chan?" A voice called out a few feet in front of the pinkette. " Are you going out to watch the one-on-one battles?"

The pinkette ran up to her friend, a wide smile on her face as she hug Uraraka's arm. " I was planning to, but I think I'd rather hang out with you instead. So tell me, who's advancing on so far? Do you know who I'll be up against yet?"

" Nope, not yet. It's Iida against this Hatsume girl. It's taking awhile since Hatsume is more interested in showing off her support equipments then winning against Iida. So far she's on baby number five." Uraraka giggled softly before she got unusually quiet.

And then, it hit Sakura on why Bakugou was acting so strange. If she was correct, it would only be two matches after this one before it'll be Bakugou's against Uraraka. So the reason why Bakugou was so quiet was because he was now getting closer to his match, and if he wins, he'll be a step closer to the title of becoming the winner of the first year's Sports Festival.

" Are you still nervous?" Sakura asked Uraraka who was now leaning her back against the wall. " About your match I mean."

Uraraka nodded her head in answer. " Yeah, I am. And it's not just because I'm up against Bakugou. It's also because it means I really need to start giving it my all now."

After a moment of not knowing what to say, Sakura motioned for Uraraka to follow her. " It's not good to worry so much before your match begins, over thinking can cause you to lose your focus when the real deal comes. In the meantime, lets go out to watch the matches to get your mind off things."

And with that said, the pinkette and Uraraka made their way out together. By the time the two friends had reached the stadium, they found that Hatsume's and Iida's match had just ended, Iida winning after Hatsume stepped out on her own.

It was obvious that Iida had wanted a fair battle even if he had won in the end. And as Sakura sat down, she looked to her left where Uraraka was there not long ago, but the brunette was no where in sight. The pinkette let out a sigh, figuring Uraraka had gone back inside.

" All Right, All Right!" Present Mic screeched, starting the introduction for the next match. " On the left we have Tokoyami from hero course! This boy truly does have an inner demon! And on the right we have Yuga Aoyama with his special belt and fancy hair!"

" Aoyama's navel laser gives him some hope in this battle considering how Dark Shadow doesn't like light." Midoriya mumbled as he scribbled into his notebook. " But Tokoyami has an even larger advantage with a powerful Quirk such as his."

Sakura leaned over to Midoriya peered into his notebook. " I guess you don't just take notes on Pro Heroes. You have details on everyone's Quirk with your own observations. I'm curious though, why do you have it?"

" Ah, it's too help me figure out everyone's strength and weaknesses so I can lean more about their abilities." Midoriya replied sheepishly, handing his notebook over to the pinkette so she could see some of his work while he focused his attention back onto the match in front of him.

Sakura's eyes skimmed over the journal, flipping through pages with surprised eyes. The details were on point, and the fact that he had been taking these kind of notes even when he was Quirkless just showed how dedicated he was with becoming a hero.

Suddenly, Sakura flipped through a page with a familiar figure on it. On one side, the figure was wearing U.A.'s standard uniform, on the other side showed the figure wearing a hero costume. It was her, Sakura Haruno on the pages of Midoriya's notebook with fiery eyes and a confident smile.

The notes covered the whole page, even continuing onto a second. The beginning sentence told of how Sakura stirred the ocean up, and the next was of her taking first place on Aizawa's test on the first day of school.

But a section that caught the pinkette's eyes was on the far right corner. It described the pinkette's Quirk as healing and inhuman strength. It told of how Sakura's eyes glowed when her Quirk was in use and how she trained under Tsunade when she was thirteen.

" You are an idiot." Sakura said quietly to herself as she picked up Midoriya's pencil and flipped through the second page that was half-way full.

With diligent handwriting, Sakura continued on the notes about herself. She had crossed out the fact about her Quirk being super strength and healing and instead wrote the accurate name of her Quirk. The pinkette described how she had to control the flow of Chakra differently for it to be either strength or healing.

She looked at Midoriya out of the corner of her eyes, a smile on her face as she placed the pencil into the notebook as a bookmark and closed it, positive Midoriya would look at her little note for him after he got his journal back.

" Here Deku." Sakura said as she handed the notebook back. " Your notes are really something else. I was surprised. "

Midoriya gave the pinkette a curious look at the smile on her face, but the girl made no action that told him she was going to tell him her thoughts. As Sakura looked back onto the stage, she found Aoyama being swiped over the borderline and out of bounds.

" Eh?" Sakura commented surprised. " This match went on longer then I had expected it to. I suppose Aoyama used the light from his laser to his advantage."

" Dark Shadow is extremely sensitive to light." Midoriya said as he nodded along. " But in the end Tokoyami got it to resist the brightness for awhile and just push Aoyama out which was the best choice since Tokoyami was trying to not hurt his opponent."

" And I guess Aoyama was at another disadvantage since he gets a stomach when he uses his Quirk for too long." Sakura put in, remembering how Aoyama explained the side effect on the first day of school.

From above, Present Mic screamed his head off as the next pair walked out. " Manly and Passionate steel! From the Hero course is Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu! Versus, Manly and passionate hardening! It's Eijiro Kirishima, also form the hero course!"

The section next to Class A contained Students from Class B, and from where she sat, Sakura could hear them cheering Tetsutetsu on. Deciding that it was only fair, the pinkette stood up and cheered Kirishima on over the loud yells next to her, hoping that her voice could he heard.

" Go Kirishima!" Sakura cheered, cupping her mouth. " Show them who's boss!"

Before the red haired boy charged, he gave Sakura a thumbs up. And without another word, Sakura watched as Kirishima and Tetsutetsu collide against each other. Neither of them wanted to back down from the other and launched attacks after another. But each punches were equal in strength and who was stronger could not be determine.

" I'm going to check see where Uraraka went." Midoriya suddenly said as he got up.

Sakura waved her hand slightly, eyes still on the match. " Check one of the waiting rooms, she was heading there before I pulled her back out here. But she left before I noticed, probably trying to clear her head."

" Okay, thanks for the advice." Midoriya replied, making his way out, but Sakura stopped him when she turned her head over to him.

" Talk to her, okay Deku?" Sakura asked. " She's going up against Firecracker next, and no matter what I say about not being worry, she goes off and gets worried. Maybe you can give her some pointers since you seem to have enough information on Firecracker. Wait, I think I'll go check on Firecracker as well."

Soon, the two students made their way over to Class A's waiting room area. But when they came across two doors, one on each wall, Midoriya went in the one on the right and Sakura opened the one on the left.

Leaning on the door frame, Sakura watched Bakugou stretched. " Sorry I didn't come back sooner. So how are you going Firecracker? Your battle against Ochaco is up after the one happening currently. Honestly, I think you'll have trouble winning. Ochaco is a tough girl who wants to win as much as the next person."

" I don't have time to doubt my opponent. In fact, I can't." Bakugou replied stiffly as he walked over to Sakura. " But I'm damn sure that this will be my first step toward the title of the number one place taker."

" Sure, sure." Sakura said, rolling her eyes. " But I'm not promising you anything that I'll be cheering for you."

And with that, Sakura watched as Bakugou made his way out. After a good five minutes, Uraraka came out of the player one waiting room also, Iida and Midoriya right next to her. Upon seeing her brunette friend, Sakura walked over to her.

" Wish me luck Sakura-chan, I'll need it." Uraraka requested, a wobbly smile on her face as she talked to the pinkette.

But instead of obliging, Sakura shook her head. " No, not good luck. Luck is when it's amateur against pro and the amateur wins. I think It'll be better to say blow them away because it's a pro against pro."

" Thank you." Uraraka smiled softly as she went in for a hug. " Well, I guess I should get going since Bakugo left already."

As Uraraka walked away, Sakura, Midoriya, and Iida walked back to the stadium. None of them said anything to the other, all being too anxious for the next battle to begin. And It didn't take long for Present Mic to announce the next match after Kirishima and Tetsutetsu was taken away after knocking each other out.

" And we're onto the final battle of the first round!" Present Mic exclaimed. " He was kind of famous in middle school, and this isn't the face of a regular person! Katsuki Bakugo! Versus! The promising Ochaco Uraraka also from hero course!"


	17. Series I: Seventeen

Sakura's mind wandered back to when Uraraka had first told them of why she wanted to become a hero. It was to let her parents take it easy, and because of that, Uraraka was now in front of Bakugou with the determination to win.

" You're the one that makes things float, right, Round Face?" Bakugou asked with a sneer. " Bubblegum up there says you'll put up a fight no matter what. But I say withdraw now because you won't get off with just a simple ouch."

Sakura rolled her eyes at Bakugou's words, there was no use threatening Uraraka, the brunette was going to fight for sure. On Sakura's left, Iida turned his head over to Midoriya, asking what strategy he was going to advice Uraraka with before the girl had turned it down, surprising the pinkette.

" W-wait, did Ochaco not want your help or something?" Sakura asked.

Midoriya nodded in reply as he resulted back to his journal. " Yeah. She said she wanted to do it on her own. But the plan I had in mind is pretty obvious so I think Uraraka had the same idea or something similar. In close combat range, Kacchan has the upper hand, but if Uraraka manages to make him float, she has a shot at winning."

" So from the start Ochaco has to try to somehow make contact with Firecracker." Sakura muttered softly, finding another reason for admiring Uraraka when she had refused the help of Midoriya. " She really is something else."

" Eighth Match, Start!" Present Mic declared, starting the battle with a loud cheer that rang throughout the arena.

And without another word, Uraraka was the first to make a move, charging at Bakugo with her hands ready. Seeing this, Sakura jumped up from her seat and cheered the girl on loudly, even going as far as to wave the cheerleading pompoms that were left behind.

" Go Ochaco!" Sakura smiled, chanting her friend's name in a rhythm. " Ochaco! Ochaco! Ochaco!"

" As long as she gets a touch in, Uraraka would have the advantage against Bakugou's explosions." Iida said smiling. " Her first move was a smart one."

But Midoriya suddenly looked worried at the situation. " Kacchan won't want Uraraka near him, and to do that he needs to counter attack her action. There's no doubt he'll use an explosion to blow Uraraka back, and if it's powerful enough, it'll knock her out of bounds."

Now growing silent, Sakura sat back down and watched as Uraraka neared Bakugou. While Bakugou begun to swing his right hand forward, Uraraka dodged in advance. But to the brunette's misfortune, Bakugou wasn't aiming for a front, he was aiming for an under. So when Bakugou released his explosion right at Uraraka, the girl was blown back not far form the out of bounds.

" Did he actually blast her!?" Mineta asked from the back, trembling as he thought of himself in Uraraka's position.

Asui shook her head at Bakugou's action, barely even surprised that the blast was strong. " Even up against a girl, Bakugou has -ribbit- no mercy to spare."

Down below, Uraraka got up once more as smoke from Bakugou's attack still lingered behind. But using it to her advantage, Uraraka made her jacket float and sent it over to Bakugou. Taking the object as his opponent, Bakugou attack it to only find that it wasn't.

Appearing from behind him, Uraraka tried once more to attack. But Sakura could already see Bakugou's hand ready to swipe, and the pinkette let out a shout toward Uraraka, trying to warn the girl. It was no use though, her voice didn't carry down fast enough for Uraraka to hear the warning on time.

Bakugou's recent attack blasted the brunette back, creating debris in the process as well as thicker smoke. Sakura now found herself biting her lips, with reflexes that fast, a smokescreen wouldn't be able to help Uraraka much.

But no matter how much Bakugou continued on to blast her, Uraraka stayed low and tried to attack over and over. Her action caused Sakura to curiously stare at her, finding it odd as to why Uraraka was staying so low when she could easily try a different approach from above.

" I can't watch!" Jiro cried out as she covered her face. And many students from Class A agreed, not liking how Uraraka was looking more and more tattered up.

" Uraraka keeps attacking without rest, and head on, I'm beginning to think her attempts are just random. Man, I really can't watch-" Present Mic suddenly stopped mid-sentence when Aizawa struck him with his elbow. " What was that for!?"

Aizawa didn't reply and instead stole the microphone away. " How many years have you been a Pro to say something like that with a straight face? Bakugou's now being careful because he acknowledges his opponent's ability. Not yet. She's still not dead."

" It's about time I think." Uraraka panted, standing up straighter. " Thanks Bakugou, for not letting your guard down on me..."

Sakura's eyes were now wide in search for what Uraraka meant. And when the pinkette saw the debris floating up in the air, she found herself slowly getting up in shock before she exploded in to cheers.

" Nice!" Sakura smiled, cupping her mouth to let her voice ring out loudly. " Ochaco! You are amazing!"

The reason why the brunette stayed low was so that Bakugou's attack would damage the ground and create rocks. Rocks that would be treated as weapons by Uraraka. And to finish her plan, Uraraka brought her fingertips together, releasing her Quirk.

The debris came falling down in a rapid pace, and while they fell, Uraraka raced over to Bakugou. But just as she neared the boy, Bakugou had raised his hand up toward the sky. And without even a look of worry, he created an explosion that blew the debris away.

The wind pressure was even strong enough to blow Uraraka back without it being directed at her. From where she stood, Sakura could see the desperation in Uraraka as she started to charge at Bakugou once more. But this time, her body wouldn't stay up and the brunette collapsed right before she reached her opponent. The pinkette stared in shock at the state her friend was in, not saying anything.

" Uraraka is out of commission, Bakugou wins and advances on." Midnight declared as the girl was lifted up onto a stretcher and taken away to Recovery Girl.

" Lets now move onto the second round after a short break! " Present Mic shouted while Cementoss finished up fixing the stage. " But lets not forget Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's rematch! Lets see who'll advance on in this match of arm wrestling!"

At this though, Sakura got up from her seat and walked out. Uraraka had given her all, even after she had pushed passed her limit. The pinkette found herself clenching her fist, angry at no one but herself. Here she was, advancing on when she had no reason to while others did.

" I didn't deserve the victory I got." Sakura said to herself, walking out of the stadium and into the outside. She followed the building's outline and found herself in a quiet place with trees that cast long shadows. There, the pinkette laid on her back and stared up into the sky.

Everything had now changed. With the second stage coming up soon, Sakura had even more reasons to work harder since everyone that had passed their first battle was a big threat to one another. What more was that the pinkette was now rethinking her every actions since the beginning of the Sports Festival.

For the first game, she had taken second place after being showed up by Midoriya, someone who had yet full control over his Quirk. And for the calvary battle, the pinkette made the decisions of teaming up with Bakugo even though she had promised not to rely on anyone such as him.

" And this damn tournament is stressing me out with Firecracker's attitude, Todoroki's background, and my next match with Tokoyami!" Sakura shouted out into the sky as she continued to lay on her back while pounding her fist on the ground.

Suddenly, the girl grew quiet as her thoughts consumed her. She played Uraraka's desperate expression over and over in her mind. The fact that her brunette friend had put up a fight with such a risky plan had ignite a sort of determination to work just as hard.

It was only right since Uraraka had given her all even though it was clear that the brunette was anxious to go up against Bakugou. For her match, Uraraka had fought her battle as if it was her last, making Sakura review back onto her own match against Yaoyorozu. Slightly bitter, Sakura made a comment to herself how she had treated the battle just like any other instead of one that could help her in the hero world

And often her thoughts would wander off to Todoroki's face when he had went up against Sero. His face was twisted into a scowl back then, but Sakura remember thinking that it was much different then his usual look.

"...Almost determined to prove something." Sakura mused to herself as she relaxed into the sun's warmth. " I wonder how it would feel like to see him without his wall of ice."

Since the girl was right next to the stadium's wall, she could still hear Present Mic's announcement loud and clear as he introduced Kirishima and Tetsutetsu in to the ring once more. And only a couple minutes later, the pinkette could hear the cheers for Kirishima's victory.

" Okay, now that we have a victor from that match, lets move onto the first battle of the second stage!" Present Mic declared and Sakura could already see the pro doing some sort of cheering pose. " Now on to the next battle!"

Abruptly, Sakura jumped to her feet and made her way to her seat back into the stadium. If she was correct, Midoriya's match against Todoroki would be the first battle in the second round. When she made it into her seat, the pinkette cast her view down below just in time to see the fireworks sparking while both Midoriya and Todoroki walked onto stage.

" Ah, Ochaco, are you okay?" Sakura asked when the brunette took a seat next to her. " Your eyes look hurt."

" That's right, you must hurry to Recovery Girl if you're still wounded." Iida said when Uraraka faced him. " Your eyes don't look too good. Did they get hurt from an explosion?"

The girl shook her head instead before rubbing her eyes. " This is...well..it's something else. Beside I had already went to the nurse's office and got patched up so it won't make sense to go right back ten minutes later. A-anyway, look! Deku's battle is beginning."

" Alright then, lets begin!" Present Mic announced. " On the right we have the boy who had destroyed his opponent in seconds and left the audience frozen! From the Hero Course, Shouto Todoroki! And on the other side we have someone who broke free from a mind control but barely passed the first round. Izuku Midoriya!"

" Go Deku! I'm rooting for you!" Sakura cheered, pumping her fist into the air.

Sakura eyes watched as Midoriya got into a stance, and she tried to determine how the boy was going to preserve his bones. Switching her vision over to the other side, the pinkette saw Todoroki getting into a stance of his own, ready for any of Midoriya's attack.

The moment the battle begun, Todoroki created a ice road aimed at Midoriya, the attack threatening to trap the green haired boy in place. But tight before it reached him, Midoriya flicked his fingers and powerful wind pressure broke the ice before sending it flying back.

Sakura shook her head when she saw Midoriya attack, a tired smile on her face. " So he's just planning to break his finger one at a time? But I guess that't really all he can do at the moment."

Down below, Todoroki had created a wall of ice to keep himself from being blown back, and once the wind had settle down, the hybrid boy released yet another jet of ice. But just like before, Midoriya stopped it from reaching him with a flick of his finger.

It was clear on Midoriya's face that he was in pain from his broken bones. But all Sakura could do was sit back and watch the boy endure his pain. The pinkette bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to figure out the percentage of Midoriya winning against Todoroki considering his lack of control over his Quirk.

" If Midoriya get a clear shot in, with no ice in between him and Todoroki, he'd be able to blow Todoroki back and out of bounds." Iid commented as if he had read Sakura's mind. " But it really depends on the situation I guess."

Suddenly, Todoroki changed his choice of attack and instead tried to get closer to Midoriya, sending one last blast of ice as a distraction. The next few actions that were taken went as a blur, but when it was all over, Sakura caught sight of Midoriya trying to get away to only be too slow, resulting in him getting his feet stuck in ice.

Then, Midoriya pulled his fist back, ready to use an attack that should only be use as a last resort. Sakura gripped the side of her seat, hoping that the punch Midoriya was going to give wouldn't damage his bones, just like the time he had used it on Nomu.

The punch that took place blew the ice away, as well as the audience. But the most important thing was that Midoriya was able to release himself from the ice. And despite the powerful air pressure created by the punch, Todoroki was able to stay in bound, something Sakura reckon wasn't easy to do.

But something was different about the way Todoroki stood. It wasn't visible enough for everyone else watching, but as a volunteer nurse, Sakura noted how Todoroki was now trembling. Her eyes widened when she realized why the boy's stance wasn't as stable.

" He has unbalance the use of his Quirk." Sakura mumbled to herself softly so no one else could hear her. " For all of his matches so far, he had not once used his left side to attack, only using it to melt his ice away. This boy is so stubborn."

" Everyone's fighting with everything they've got." Midoriya managed to wince out, and something told Sakura he had also catch on. "But you want to win with only half your strength!? You have not once placed a single scratch on me yet! So come at me with everything you've got!"

As Todoroki ran toward Midoriya, Sakura noticed how his movement weren't as fast or as sharp as was when he had first started. And when the two boys got near each other, Midoriya punched the boy in the stomach, but at the same time, Todoroki grazed the arm he had used and covered it with frost.

" Ack!" Midoriya screamed out in pain while Todoroki was sent near the border line, barely still in.

But it only took a few moments before they were fighting again. With his broken fingers, Midoriya tried to land another hit on his opponent to only find that he was too slow due to his injuries. And just when Sakura thought it was all over, Midoriya hooked a finger into his mouth and flicked it at Todoroki.

" He is a complete idiot!" Sakura groaned as she slumped into her chair. " Who uses their broken fingers as if they're bendable straws?"

" But you've gotta admit, Deku's really aspiring." Uraraka put in, grinning widely when she saw Sakura's face pained in agreeing with her. " You know, during my match with Bakugo, I kept on urging myself to go on, saying _just like Deku_ over and over to myself."

Sakura slightly smiled at that, realizing that Midoriya had not just aspire her, but also the students around him. Focusing back onto the match, Sakura saw the daze look on Todoroki's face as if he was in a memory.

But it didn't take long before he snapped back into reality. And when he did, his left side burst into flames, surprising the pinkette. She was in awe of the power the fire held, but when Endeavor started to make his way closer to the battle, she scowled.

" Shouto!" The number two hero cried out as if he had won something. " Have you finally accepted yourself?! Good! It all begins here for you! You will surpass me!"

Sakura got up from her seat and made her way over to the edge of the stand she was on. " Don't listen to him Todoroki! He shouldn't be the one deciding who you are and what you'll do!"

From where she stood, Sakura caught sight of Endeavor casting her a glare that could kill. But she wasn't interested in him, and instead the pinkette went back to the match right on time to see Midoriya and Todoroki about to collide.

But Cementoss interfered, creating layers of cement to stop the burst of flames and air pressure from meeting each other. The Pro's action caused a huge ripple of power now that the wind and flames mixed together in the air, causing everyone watching to hold on tight as to not get blown away.

" What's going on?" Sakura heard a couple of her classmates ask.

Fighting the urge to close her eyes, Sakura kept her gaze on the action below. Before the cloud of smoke had even cleared, Sakura already knew the results. Midoriya was out of bounds and unconscious, and Todoroki was instantly crowned as the victor of the battle.

" Shouto Todoroki wins the first battle of the second round!" Present Mic declared, slighted still not over what had happen.

And the crowd went wild with that simple sentence. While Midoriya was taken away and Todoroki left the stage, Cementoss cleared the arena of any debris and remade the stage for the next battle. Sakura's battle.

" You're up next, right Sakura-chan?" Uraraka asked when the pinkette got up. " Do your best!"

" I give my regards to you also." Iida added.

Sakura nervously let out a laugh, eyes somewhat tense. " I don't think I'll be able to give you a flashy show like Deku's, but I'll do my best that's for sure."

When Sakura passed Bakugou's seat on her way out, the boy grabbed her arm to which the girl curiously stared at him. Bakugou didn't even look at the girl as he explained himself. " You better win and meet me in the semi-finals."

" You've got it Firecracker." Sakura replied and the boy let her go. Slowly, knowing that the stage was still being rebuild, Sakura made her way to the entrance of the arena, replaying Midoriya's battle in her mind.

The boy had purposely tried to provoke Todoroki. And speaking of Todoroki, the boy passed the girl just as she turned a corner. Their eyes met for a second, but Todoroki soon passed by her without another word. And when the pinkette saw Endeavor next, she frowned a bit.

" You shouldn't interfere with family matter." Endeavor snarled as he walked passed Sakura, eyes narrowed in anger at what ever had happened with his son.

Sakura stepped into the arena, and when she did, she replied to the pro hero's comment. " You shouldn't treat someone as if they're just a tool. Especially when they're not like you, not now, not ever."

As she made her way onto stage, the pinkette could feel the glare on her back given to her by Endeavor, but she ignored it and focused and the boy standing before her, Tokoyami, the second obstacle standing between her and first place.

" Now that the stage as been fixed, lets get right into it!" Present Mic shouted once the two students were standing on the stage. " We have Fumikage Todoroki, the boy who has both offense and defense in his body! And who is up against this dark samurai you wonder?

Here she is once more, a tempest trapped in the body of no other then Sakura Haruno, a raging storm that dares others to face her fist!"


	18. Series I: Eighteen

The moment the battle started, Tokoyami sent Dark Shadow after Sakura, trying to make it so that the pinkette had no time to collect her thoughts to decide on her next actions. But after watching his battle up against Aoyama, Sakura knew better and was able to dodge to the right.

The few seconds the pinkette had time to think was a critical time considering how it was only a matter of time before Tokoyami would strike again. So, thinking fast of a way to buy herself time, the pinkette raised a fist and pounded it once on the ground.

The results were instant and the stage broke into different sections, making it become uneven. From the side of the cracks, dust rose from it, creating a thick layer of fog that served as a smokescreen.

 _There!_ Sakura thought. _There should be an opening to his defense right now!_

Almost as if the movements were tattooed into her mind before she had even start, Sakura did some cartwheels so her steps couldn't be detected and ended it with a light jump where she was right above Tokoyami's figure.

Readying her right hand for a punch, she clenched it tightly and pulled it back so there was power behind it. But just as she neared her opponent, Dark Shadow appeared before her and knocked her off to the side, forcing the girl to take back her fist and instead work on landing on her feet.

" Is this the end of Haruno's victory?!" Present Mic questioned from his seat. " Is Tokoyami's Quirk just one that can not be beaten?!"

Rolling her eyes at the comment, Sakura went back to focusing on Tokoyami and Dark Shadow. With his Quirk, it felt like battling two people at a time, one reason was because Tokoyami could always use Dark Shadow as a distraction or it could be the other way around. But either way, they both brought up Sakura's guard.

Suddenly, the pinkette found her self wide eyed in surprised as Dark Shadow came rushing at her. Her instinct kicked in an she jumped over the Quirk, placing her hand on Dark Shadow's head and boosting herself over to Tokoyami.

Now with Dark Shadow behind her, Sakura charged at the Quirk's wielder, running on Dark Shadow's body since it was already attached to Tokoyami. She raised a leg and aimed for a side sick, but her actions were countered when Dark Shadow retreated, knocking the pinkette to the ground.

By now, the fog at died down so Sakura had nothing to use as a sort of screen for her attacks. From where she stood, Sakura could hear the crowd cheering, for who, she didn't know since everyone was trying their best to out-cheer the other side. But one that stood out was Uraraka's.

Off to the pinkette right, she could see her brunette friend cheering ad shouting. And to be honest, Sakura felt embarrassed at the progress she had made in her current match. Because the moment Uraraka's battle against Bakugo started, she was continuously attacking with all she had. But all Sakura had done so far was attack three times.

" I _will_ win this match. For me and in dedication to Ochaco." Sakura said more to herself then to anyone else, and without another word, she was off.

The pinkette jumped forward and while in mid-air, did an one-eighty turn with her legs in a round house kick position. With her eyes glowing green in power, Sakura delivered her attack, not landing on Tokoyami like she had intended it to, but on Dark Shadow instead.

The attack created a ripple in the air, one that spread throughout the whole stadium and stole some audiences' breath away, literally in some cases. But it wasn't the way the attack had ended, but the way the attack was delivered that caused the crowd to go wild.

Dark Shadow stagger a bit, having been sent back a few feet and it was Tokoyami that had kept it from being completely blown back. Before long later though, Dark Shadow had recovered and was ready to fight once more.

" I warn you now, Haruno, we will no longer pull back from our attacks." Tokoyami said. " Up until now we have tried to avoid hitting you directly, but if it continues to go on like this, I don't think they'll be a victor any time soon."

Sakura frowned at the boy's words. " I'm offended that you have been holding back. Don't worry though, I'll heal myself when the time comes, and as well as you because I'm sure as hell you won't get off this stage with just a simple scratch."

" Big talk for a someone as frail looking as you." Dark Shadow screeched, a hint of laughter in his tone. " But if so, come at me then."

Her tempering getting the better of her at Dark Shadow's teasing, Sakura did not hesitate to run at the duo with her fist in a ready position to strike. However, she wasn't the only one who was ready to attack.

At the same time, Dark Shadow's fist and Sakura's fist collide against each other. But Quirk energy was behind Sakura's punch, and the attack had sent ripples throughout Dark Shadow's whole body, causing it to pull back in surprised.

However, that didn't mean Dark Shadow's attack didn't have an effect on Sakura. _If he was in darkness, I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with his power._ Sakura thought to herself as she aimed for another punch, but this time at Tokoyami who was exposed for an attack for the time.

It only took a slit second though for Dark Shadow to move and take the punch instead. Frustrated, Sakura jumped back so there was a good amount of distance between her and her opponent. Her eyes went to the ground and the debris that had been created.

Slowly, eyes glinting with an idea, she picked up a large chunk off the ground and held it up over her head. At her action, the crowd went wild once more, excited for her next move, and to see how Tokoyami would counter her attack.

" Eh?! Does Haruno have an idea up her sleeve?!" Present Mic shouted into his microphone. " It better be good because even I don't know how to face Dark Shadow head on!"

The chunk she had in her hand was bigger then her, twice her side in length and twice All Might's size in width. Suddenly the pinkette begun to spin, and before anyone knew it, she released the rubbish and it went flying at Dark Shadow at a rabid speed.

Distracted by the debris hurling at him, Dark Shadow didn't notice Sakura slipping out of his field of vision and heading to his host. It was far too late to make a move when Dark Shadow had dealt with the object, because by the time he had notice, Sakura's fist was inches from Tokoyami's face. A million thoughts ran through Sakura's mind with each seconds it took for her fist to land on her target.

This one punch was going to be her ticket to the semi-finals.

Uraraka was still cheering, and this time louder then ever.

Midoriya had only now showed up, and in a cast as expected. But he held up his journal and smiled down on the pinkette.

All Might was now pumping his fist in one of the entrance leading to the stage, forming words of cheers.

Endeavor had on a slightly intrigued look on his face.

Bakugou, with his hands stuffed into his pockets only let out a small smirk that spoke miles.

Todoroki was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, his face only faintly interested at what may be the results of the punch.

 **" Let me show you the potential."** Sakura suddenly heard within her mind.

And then, the glow surrounding Sakura's eyes faded slowly and the pinkette felt her Quirk retreating back into her chest and out of her fist. Her eyes widened at this, but her fist was already on Tokoyami's face.

However, what happened next was unexplainable. The green glow had now return, but this time it was more intense then it had ever been, and the glow not only surrounded her eyes up also her fist; almost as if her body wasn't able to contain the amount of Chakra in her hands anymore.

To her, the world swept passed her in slow motion and the punch took hours to land. But to the audience, it had only took a few seconds. Sakura was left panting, her posture bent as Tokoyami went sailing backward.

The wind pressure picked up and started to turn around to the point it resembled a storm. The blades of wind were sharp and cold, cutting into Sakura's jacket and pants. Many had trouble seeing what was in front of them, but everyone could make out the figure of Tokoyami going pass the boundary.

She thought that was it, she had managed to knock her opponent out of bounds, but her attack was far more complicated; which was proven when Tokoyami didn't stop until he crashed into a stadium wall and continue to break through until sometimes later.

The stadium that the boy had crashed through begun to sway as cracks descended from the hole created. Shouts could be heard as everyone rushed to escape the crumbling stand and Cementoss had to get up and create an extra layer of cement to stable the section.

" W...w..what just happened folks!?" Present Mic screeched, glasses cracked from the wind pressure.

Midnight hurriedly called for a stretcher, and it only took a few minutes before Tokoyami was taken away to Recovery Girl's office. The crowd was silent as Sakura stood on the stage alone, not knowing what exactly to do.

" W..well, you already know it by now!" Present Mic shouted, recovering from his shock. " The winner is our own Cherry Blossom, Sakura Haruno!"

And at that, the audience went berserk, cheers coming from ever inch of the arena. However, when Sakura walked off that stage, she could hear some whisper about how her Quirk was far too out of control and destructive.

" Because the stage and a section of the stadium have been severely damaged, we'll take a half hour break to get them fix up. In the meantime, feel free to head to the eatery!" Present Mic offer when the crowd expected another battle. " Lets get another cheer for our victor of the second battle of the second round!"

Almost frantic, Sakura went in search for All Might, the only adult that she knew personally and felt she could consult to. This was far too much for her. She felt as if her power was out of control, scaring her of what may happen if she was to simply spar.

" Young Haruno, over here!" All Might whispered, peeking out from a room and gesturing Sakura to come in. " We need to talk."

Quickly, Sakura ran over, closing the door once she was in. " I..I don't know what happened. I was in control one second, the next my Quirk's flickering and Tokoyami gets sent into a wall!"

" Calm down." All Might tried to assure the girl, and out of no where he turned into his muscular form. " I'm sure it was only a time of nerves that got to you. Chin up, you're doing great so far. Next time, try to stay in control, I'm sure you're better at that then Young Midoriya out there. Now get out there, I'm many of your friends want to congratulate you on getting to the semi-finals."

Sakura nodded unsurely, but seeing the way All Might grinned so fearless, she through those doubts into the back of her mind. " If you say so."

" One more thing," All Might called, causing the girl to look back at him. " I'm proud of you."

Feeling warm and fuzzy, Sakura left the room smiling widely despite the fact she had recently just sent someone flying into a wall. And her cheerfulness grew when she bumped into Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya while heading to the eatery.

" Sakura-chan!" Uraraka smiled, running up to the girl and hugging the Pinkette's arm. " You're advancing on! I'm so happy for you!"

Sakura clasped Uraraka's hand in her's, eyes twinkling. " I wanted to win for you! You're my best friend and I did it in honor of your amazing match against Firecracker! You were amazing against him, and that meteor shower was really something else!"

As the two girls giggled and talked, Iida and Midoriya followed behind them, not knowing how to get into the conversation since Sakura and Uraraka were mainly talking about each other. But after getting their food and sitting down, Midoriya popped a question that was burning everyone.

" Those entry that you wrote in my journal, are they true? I showed Iida and Uraraka by the way, maybe I should've asked you before I did." Midoriya commented, pulling up his notebook and flipping to the page and showing Sakura.

Sakura shook her head in answer. " I don't mind. And yes, everything was true. I guess it's sort of hard to believe since I've never really spoke of it directly before."

" That's impressive. I've always thought of someone having a Quirk such as that, but never imagine they'd be so close to me." Iida said. " Your match really inspired me, so hopefully we'll meet later in the tournament."

" That's right, your match is also coming up." Uraraka brought up, setting down her cup after taking a sip. " I think you're up against this one girl. The one from Class B and have this really cool Quirk where her hair are vines. She demolished Kaminari in their match! Best of luck to you Iida!"

" Deku, did Recovery Girl not heal your bones yet?" Sakura asked, nodding to the cast. " If you'd like, I can heal them for you right now."

" Nah, it's okay." Midoriya replied, smiling at the girl. " I know using your Quirk to heal takes a toll on you. And with you being so close to the finals, I don't think it's a good idea to ask you to heal me. Otherwise you'l be too tired to fight later."

As the four friends chatter among themselves, it took ten minutes for all of them to finish their food and head out to see the progress in fixing the damages done by yours truly, Sakura Haruno. But when they got out, they saw that the stage was the only thing completely done.

" I guess you did more then just slightly make the seats sway." Iida pointed out, noticing how many seats were being replaced.

Laughing nervously at the comment, Sakura sheepishly nodded along. They passed by many classmates, and they either praised the pinkette or teasingly told her to back down with the punches. The four also bumped into Tokoyami who seemed to have recover now.

" That was a good battle." Tokoyami said when he saw Sakura, and he offer her a small smile. " I would like to go against each other some other times."

Sakura smiled at the sportsmanship shown. " Sure, you're really amazing yourself."

Tokoyami nodded in reply as Sakura turned an excused herself from the group. She made her way to the bathroom, and once she was done, she went on her way back to Midoriya and the rest of the class. But after seeing someone, she decided to drop by.

"Oi! Firecracker!" Sakura called out, swinging an arm around Bakugou's neck. " I guess we'll meet soon in the tournament, won't we?"

Bakugo looked at the pinkette's ripped sweater, and when he notice the dried blood from her nicked skin, he let out a smirk. " You're so careless. You were bleeding from your own attack you dumbass and you didn't even notice."

" What?" Sakura looked at her arm and only noticed now that the wind pressure she had created had nicked her skin. " Ah, I guess the blades of wind were more fast moving then I thought it was."

Bakugou's hand went to his own jacket's zipper and after pulling it down, he took off his jacket. " Here you idiot, take it. Your jacket's pretty jacked up. Think of this gesture as an apology for beating you in our match."

" Hey!" Sakura protest but took the jacket anyway. " We haven't even gone up against each other yet and you declare yourself as the winner already. Fine then, take my jacket and be grateful because you now have the jacket that was worn by the winner of the sports festival."

Bakugou only rolled his eyes as he took her jacket and roped it around his waist. When he saw Sakura having trouble with pulling up the zipper, he reached for it. " Here, let me do it. Damn Bubblegum. When did you become such a damsel in distress that you need help zipping up a simple jacket?"

As the boy pulled up the zipper, he was close enough that the pinkette could smell him. Caramel. And maybe sugar. Suddenly, Sakura found herself flushing at the closeness, and it didn't help her reddening face when Bakugou looked up at her.

Ba-dum

Ba-dum

Ba-dum

Quickly, Sakura turned around so her back was facing Bakugou, clenching the spot where her heart was. " I've got to go! I think I heard Present Mic starting the next match!"

The last thing the pinkette heard Bakugou say was something about her being a weirdo. But that was the last thing on her mind, the more important thing was the feeling she had just went through. She hadn't gone _that_ red in a long time. And to be honest, Sakura didn't really know how to handle it.

" No, no, no, I'm not catching feelings." Sakura tried to convince herself. " It was just the gesture that got to me. I mean, what girl wouldn't get flustered when a guy offers her his jacket? Right? Me and Firecracker are friends. And that's final. Definitely."

After calming her heart down, Sakura walked back to her seat. But the moment she was given questioning glances about the jacket she was wearing, she found herself sinking into it, trying to hide her red face and ears.

" Whose jacket is that?" Midoriya asked when Sakura sat down next to him. " Why didn't they give you one with your size?"

" L-look!" Sakura suddenly chirped out as she pointed at the stage where the next two pairs were facing each other after walking out, trying to get the attention off her. " It's Iida and the girl from Class 1-B who's up next!"

" Welcome back everyone!" Present Mic's voice rang throughout the arena, causing many to reply in cheers. " And hello to the recent winner of the last battle, I'm talking about you Haruno! But sadly, the spotlight has not shifted onto the next duo! Makes some noise folks!"

And on cue, everyone cheered, Uraraka and Sakura one of the loudest considering how the boy on the stage was a friend of theirs. And when everyone settled down once more, Present Mic begun the introduction as usual.

" We have hero course Ibara Shiozaki! The only one from Class B to advance on!" Present Mic screamed his head off. " And on the other side we have Tenya Iida, a boy who already has a powerful move up his sleeves!"

And with that said, the rest of the battle for the second round begun.


	19. Series I: Nineteen

Iida's match was quick and promising. Shiozaki at first tried to get her vines to attack Iida, but the boy used Recipro Burst once more and was able to avoid the attack as well as appear near his opponent. A second later, Iia had won after pushing Shiozaki out of bounds.

After being declared the winner, Iida walked off the stage and before long, the next duo came walking out. But then, Midoriya suddenly got up from his seat, excusing himself. As he got up, Sakura pulled on his jacket to stop him.

" What's wrong?" Sakura asked. " Do you need to go somewhere important?"

Midoriya let out a sheepish grin as he replied. " I need to get back to Recovery Girl for another inspection. I was only allowed to come watch yours and Iida's battle after All Might reasoned with Recovery Girl. I'll be back."

As the boy left, she worriedly stared at his hand. It was scarred and a bit deformed since his battle with Todoroki. It was obvious that Midoriya was now facing the consequence of using One For All even when his bones were broken. And now, the pinkette was worried his hands wouldn't be able to fight like it use to.

Pushing her concern back for the time being, Sakura focused her attention on to the match down below. It was now Bakugou against Kirishima, and from the look of it, they've been exchanging hits after hits to each other for awhile now.

Against Kirishima's Quirk, Bakugou's explosions barely worked against the boy. On the other hand, the red haired boy would occasionally graze Bakugou when the blonde was too slow to dodge. But the way Bakugou was bidding his time told Sakura there was more to his lack of flashy attacks.

" Kirishima, get his chin! His chin!" Tetsutetsu shouted loudly to the point the students from Class A could hear him.

" I guess not all Class B are complete morons." Sakura snorted, smiling. " It's hard enough to like someone who have won against you, but to cheer that person on gives sportsmanship a whole new meaning."

Meanwhile, Bakugou had just sent a flash of explosion at Kirishima's abdomen to only return to defense when Kirishima continuously swung his fist at the blonde. However, when Bakugou yet again release an explosion near his opponent's side, Kirishima let out a shout of pain.

It was now clear what Bakugou had been doing this whole time. The whole time during the battle, Kirishima had kept his Quirk up, and it was only a matter of time before he would start straining to continue to do so. Bakugou had simply just been cutting the amount of time Kirishima could keep his Quirk up by attacking over and over.

Now that Bakugou knew that Kirishima's hardening was fall apart, he raised both his hands in front of him. A second later, a large explosion crashed against Kirishima's body, but his Quirk was able to stay solid for a bit more.

Then, as if with a new found determination, Bakugou created explosions after explosions, positive that it was only a matter of time before Kirishima's Quirk would give in. And he was right because after a significantly large explosion, Kirishima was left immobilized.

" Our winner is Katsuki Bakugou from hero course!" Present Mic declared. " Now, on to the semi-finals! Make some noise as we welcome the first match of the semi-finals!"

" Deku, are you feeling better now?" Uraraka asked when the boy walked over to them and sat down.

Midoriya nodded, wincing slightly. " Yeah, the check up went okay. So now that the final four have been determined, the next match would be against Iida and Todoroki, right? And after that it'll be Sakura against Kacchan?"

" Yeah." Sakura replied nodding. " I've got some jitters, but they'll be gone by the time by match rolls around. In the meantime, Iida will have to work his best."

Suddenly, while the match begun, Sakura thought back to the time Bakugou helped her zipped up the jacket. Just the thought caused the pinkette's face to heat up. The feeling she was now feeling was just so sudden. Of all the times she could've caught feelings, it just had to be now.

What worse was that the girl was positive Bakugou would never return her feelings. So all she could do for the time being was to deny the emotion that dared to show up once more after so many years. Beside, stuff like that would only distract her from the main reason she make to U.A. and that was to become the number one hero.

Down below, Iida had just landed a heavy hit on Todoroki. Within seconds, Iida was now heading to the out of bound so he could tossed his opponent out. But when he was almost there, the Recipro Burst he had used died out.

Sakura's eyes landed on Iida's engines to find that they were covered with ice, stopping it from working. Instantly, while Iida was distracted, Todoroki froze both the boy's leg and arms until the ice covered Iida from head to neck, stopping at his neck.

" Todoroki wins!" Midnight declared while the said boy melted the ice covering Iida's body away. " Next up, Bakugou versus Haruno!"

Calmly, Sakura waved good-bye to both Midoriya and Uraraka as she made her way down to the stage. As she neared the arena, she saw that Bakugou was already there, her jacket still roped around his waist. Involuntarily, the pinkette's hand reached for the zipper.

" He won't go easy on you." Sakura mumbled to herself as her hand went back to her side. " So there is no reason to go easy on him either."

As Sakura walked on stage, Bakugou only offered a glare, his hands already sparking. The pinkette drew in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, and after a few, she looked directly at Bakugou and narrowed her eyes. On this stage, and in this situation, they were enemies.

" Second battle of the semi-finals, begin!" Midnight announced, waving her whip as a signal to start.

And with one single movement, Sakura struck the floor before jumping in the air. The attack created a smokescreen for the pinkette as she attacked from above, and when she neared her opponent, she raised her fist, ready to strike.

Unfortunately, just as she thought she was about to get a hit in, she felt an explosion collide against her body, sending her tumbling back. But the pinkette was soon able to recover and steadied herself. She felt the stinging of a scratch on her leg and winced, but she made no attempt to heal it.

Getting into a stance, Sakura raised her leg up high. She brought it down heavily, and once it pounded on the ground, a fissure was created toward Bakugou. The fissure came fast and sharp, causing trouble for Bakugou when he decided to take a step forward.

But once he had balanced once more, he launched himself in the air, using explosions to keep him air-borne. However, the pinkette was able to counter the side kick that came to her by one of her own. And when Bakugou landed, she aimed a punch at the boy's jaw, her eyes glowing.

The attack sent him flying near the border line, but not enough got it to be declare an out. But Bakugo was up the second he stopped skidding, wiping the small drops of blood coming from his mouth.

" You really need to be more careful with your hands." Bakugou smirked. " One congratulating pat can end up to be a smack."

" S-shut up!" Sakura replied. " Be serious Firecracker!"

Bakugou shrugged his shoulders before he raised a hand in front of him. The boy created an explosion that went hurling at the pinkette. It was far too big for the girl to simply side step, so to avoid betting blasted, Sakura raised her clenched hand and pushed it forward.

The action created blades of winds that rippled against the explosion, causing it to burn out before it reached the pinkette. But after that one explosion, many more came into its stead at a rabid speed. Knowing that she could no longer just simply burn them out the entire time, Sakura launched her self into the air.

When high enough, she repositioned herself so when she was nearing Bakugou, one hand was in front of her as support to pin Bakugou down while the other was pulled back into a fist, ready to strike forward.

" You're too predictable." Bakugou commented before sending the girl back again with an eruption.

 _The only strategy I have now is to continuously attack so he doesn't make time to create an attack_. Sakura thought to herself, plan already in action as she charged forward. She performed a series of combat that included different kicks as well as some flashy flips.

At one point, she landed a hit on Bakugou's abdomen as well as Bakugou landing an explosion near her side. The two both retreated to a safe distance, cursing the fact that their opponent had got a hit in.

" Why is this taking so long?!" Bakugou scowled. " Just kneel already!"

Sakura grinned at the boy, almost laughing at how Bakugou's comment contradicted his ones in the past. " I thought you liked my determination and strength. Why are you complaining about it now Firecracker?"

And as if to prove something, Sakura entered Bakugou's combat range and aimed a kick like usual. Bakugou smirk, knowing that from the position, it was going to be a high kick at his jaw. But when he held up his arms as defense, Sakura snapped her lower leg back and continued to raise her leg.

Smoothly, the pinkette turned her hips and turned her supporting leg so that the heel was shown to Bakugou. Once her lower leg and thigh reached about the same level of height, the pinkette straightened her length in a rabid speed, getting Bakugou's neck.

" A Brazilian Kick?!" Present Mic shouted surprised. " What a shock! Does Haruno have any more tricks up her sleeves?!"

Bakugou let out heavy breaths, eyes wide at the move Sakura had just pulled. Using the state that her opponent was in to her advantage, Sakura used the time to figure out a way to knock him off his feet.

The next move that came at Bakugou came simultaneously. The pinkette had jumped, not up, but down before landing on one hand. She swiped her legs at Bakugo, hoping that the boy was too slow to dodge. But to her disappointment, Bakugou was able to avoid the attack by jumping up.

And while in the air, the boy blasted an attack at Sakura that the girl had barely been able to avoid in time. A bead of sweat fell from Sakura's forehead and her eyes widened. If she was sweating, then so was Bakugou. And because Bakugo's Quirk depended on his sweat, his explosions were no doubt much stronger now.

" Eh? Did you only figure it out now?" Bakugou asked, raising a taunting eyebrow. Almost as if his next move was going to finish the girl, he raised both hands, his palm facing Sakura while a cocky smirk adorn his face. " Die...!"

Quickly, Sakura ducked, figuring that the attack was more likely to go up than down. But, she was proven wrong when she tried to get closer to Bakugou while still staying low. As she neared the boy, she could see a ball of explosion launched in her way.

Fast thinking, the pinkette avoided it by jumping, after pumping the flow of her Quirk into her legs for a boost. At first the girl cursed the ball of fire, but when she realized that it could be used as a curtain between her and Bakugou, she silently thanked it. Once she had landed on a safe zone for the time being, she already had a plan on what to do with the next explosion thrown her way.

The next attack that came from Bakugou was large, creating layers of smoke that tinted the clear sky. But Sakura knew exactly how to turn it to a use for her next attack, even allowing a small smile that couldn't be contained.

Until now, all of her attacks that had landed only caused Bakugou to appear near the border line, but this time, Sakura was going to make sure that this punch was going to send Bakugou out and possibly in Recovery Girl's office. This current match was the only one keeping her from the finals, and the pinkette had no intention of losing.

When Sakura was sure it was close enough for Bakugou suspect it to have hit her, Sakura left the ground again, and while in the air, she pulled her fist back. Her opponent was still oblivious of her, but when he felt the ripple of air from above him, he took notice.

" You wish Bubblegum!" Bakugou shouted over the roaring crowd as his hands begun to spark with little explosions that were getting ready for a larger one, one that could possibly end the match once and for all.

His words however, didn't falter the pinkette's stance, nor did it caused doubt to take over. Instead, Sakura was more determined then ever, finding that what Bakugou had said only fed the flames in her.

It didn't matter if she was blasted away by the explosion, as long as she was able to get a hit in as well as ready herself, this was going to be her win. Her eyes glowed their usual green, indicating the use of her Quirk. With her fist only inches from Bakugou's face, Sakura had no reason to back down even though Bakugou's hand was getting ready for a large attack that could potentially injure her severely.

 **" You lack knowledge of yourself.** " The same voice that Sakura heard from her match with Tokoyami came, and the pinkette's eyes widened.

Just like last time, the glow from her eyes disappeared, but this time instantly. She could still feel her Quirk in her, but when she tried to guide it to her fist, it only swirled around, not following Sakura's demand. This was bad.

Fear crept in Sakura's eyes as her fist collide against Bakugou's face. But the results were nothing like it was with Tokoyami. The glow had yet to come back, so Bakugou only stumbled back from the punch that was barely going to leave a bruise.

However, just because Sakura's Quirk had malfunction, that didn't mean Bakugou's did as well. The boy had already released his attack when he felt Sakura's fist against his jaw, but he had expected to be flying back from the impact, not just do a slight tumble from it. Not to mention the lack of pain he had expected.

Sakura on the other hand was thrown back from the attack. She was too focus on the lack of obedience of her Quirk that she had forgotten to ready a stance in advance when the explosion collide against her. She crashed in one of the stadium's wall, and when she did, she let out a cry of pain while blood dripped down her mouth.

" Eh?!" Present Mic said, puzzled by why Bakugou was still on his feet and still in boundary. And almost glumly, he declared the boy the victor of the match. " I suppose Bakugou advances onto the finals."

Sakura slid down the wall and sat down, steadying her breathing. Something was wrong with her. She keeps hearing this anonymous voice inside her head that was not her own, and that was definitely not a good sign. But what more was her Quirk acting up.

" Come on Bubblegum, get up." Bakugou offered his hand to the girl, but when she looked up at him, he could see fear in her eyes. " What's wrong?"

" N-nothing." Sakura stuttered out as she took his hand. With a firm grasp, Bakugou hoisted the girl up.

The two made their way out after Present Mic announced a break since the final match was coming up. And when Sakura and Bakugo was alone in the deserted hall, Sakura pulled on Bakugou arm, stopping him from walking away any farther.

She drew a shaky breath, and her eyes never left the ground. " I'm scared Firecracker. I think there's something wrong with me."

Bakugou's gave the girl a questioning look as he lifted her face up by the chin. " Don't be stupid. There's nothing wrong with you. If anything, I'm more pissed that I won. That final punch you gave me barely even did anything."

" That's what I'm talking about." Sakura whispered. " I need to go. I have to find All Might and tell him."

Almost desperate, Sakura walked away, eyes searching for the number one hero, leaving Bakugou to only stare at her back. This was scaring her. This might impact her future as a hero. What if she was up against a villain to only find that she couldn't use her Quirk? What if she-

" Young Haruno?" All Might suddenly stopped the pinkette's train of thoughts. " Were you looking for me? I think it's time to talk again, perhaps I was wrong."

Sakura nodded along and followed the man into a room for privacy. When she sat down, it was silent to the point you can hear a pin drop. All Might was too deep in thoughts as he tried to come to a conclusion, and Sakura just simply didn't know what to say. But after awhile, she broke the silence with a small voice.

" Can I still be a hero?"


	20. Series I: Twenty

All Might stared baffled at what the young girl had just said. Never had he ever thought would Sakura question her dream to become a world-wide known hero. Especially after seeing the sheer determination of the pinkette's face when he had went to visit Tsunade occasionally.

And not to mention after all the hard work the pinkette had put effort into, which included doing some of the dangerous exercises All Might had almost not suggested. This girl in front of him had work hard, and to him, she shouldn't even be questioning herself.

" W-what do you mean?" All Might stuttered as he stared wide-eyed at the girl, to which she only tried to avoid eyes contact. " I thought you wanted to become a hero. Why are you questioning yourself now when you have come so far?"

Sakura covered her face with her hands, but then she looked up and All Might could see the fear in her eyes. " I'm scared that the voice in my head will interfere with my future actions. All Might, what if it strikes again and I end up hurting someone? Or worse, what if I fail to save others just because my Quirk isn't working?

All Might was lost for words. He didn't know what was going on fully either. And he had no experience in this type of situation. But one thing was for sure, he wasn't going to let a future hero's dream go to waste after watching her train for so long.

" Can your Quirk still work right now?" The pro asked gently.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders and when she went to check, she found that her Quirk indeed still work. " During both time that my Quirk acted up, I heard a voice inside my head telling me things. The most resent was about me lacking knowledge of my Quirk."

" I don't know how to really help you, Cherry Blossom Of The Spring." All Might said sadly. " But I will say that the answer to your question is yes, you can still be a hero. It just depends on you fighting through this rough time, or finding answers."

" I'm still unsure. I just don't want to put anyone in danger." Sakura mumbled out, hanging her head in defeat.

All Might reached over the table and grabbed ahold of the remote control. He turned to his left and pressed a button, and before long, a scene of Sakura's fight against Yaoyorozu flashed by before it went on to Tokoyami. " This is you. Sakura Haruno, the third place winner."

Sakura only bit the inside of her mouth as she saw herself on the screen punch the stage. And from there, more scenes were showed on her matches. When Iida's match suddenly appeared, All Might closed it and turned back to the pinkette, looking at her intensely, trying to say something with his gaze.

" Tsunade did not train you for two years so you can quit later. And I did not place my faith and trust in you to become a great hero for nothing." All Might said sternly. " You will figure out a way to either make peace with this voice, or find another way."

Sakura smiled softly as she felt the pro ruffle her hair. Being around All Might was fill of positive and encouraging things. It reminded the pinkette why he was such a popular hero among the children and adults. It was because he smiled in the face of danger. Something she hoped to do as well when the time comes.

" Now off you go, Young Todoroki and Young Bakugou are about to face off, I'm sure you don't want to miss it." All Might grinned. " And another thing, if you like, you can go off to train with Tsunade once more for your up coming internship, I'm sure she'd be able to come to a conclusion of this voice."

" But she's now the principal of a school, she won't have time to train me anymore." Sakura reminded pouting slightly.

All Might let out a chuckle of amusement. " We're talking about Tsunade here. For all we know, she's probably chugging down a bottle of sake right this moment. This internship might be the last time you guys can train one on one, so work your hardest."

" Always." Sakura promised as she went out of the room. Just like All Might said, she really didn't want to miss the final match. " Oh, and thank you."

As the pinkette made her way back to her seat, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. She felt like a fool, daring to ask if she could still become a hero. The answer was obvious, she'd kill herself before she quit just because of a few malfunctions. She really was vulnerable to doubt during her weakest.

" Sakura-chan, hurry up!" Uraraka called over. " It's beginning. The final battle between Bakugou and Todoroki!"

Grinning, Sakura walked over and seated herself near the brunette, eyes on what was going on down below. True to Uraraka's words, the match was just beginning to start, for Present Mic's usual introdctions had just ended, and the two opponent were glaring at each other.

Then, as if it was planned, Todoroki attacked in an instant while Bakugouu blasted away every ice attacks that came his way with quick movements that Sakura had trouble keeping up with his hands and where they were. But after awhile, the mountain of ice over took the blonde and caged him.

" Have the winner already been decided?!" Present Mic screeched. " Todoroki kicks off with another large attack! And where is Bakugou? He is no where in sight!"

" Ah, it makes sense why Todoroki used such a large blow from the beginning. He's avoiding close combat with Kacchan." Midoriya explained, checking his notebook once more on the matter of the battle.

Sakura nodded along, agreeing that Todoroki's actions were the best option at the moment. " But I don't think Firecracker's going down this early just yet."

Suddenly, a deafening noise could be heard coming from down below. Sitting on the edge of her seat, Sakura saw Bakugou busting his way out of the ice prison by using his Quirk to create a path inside. When the blonde got out, heated air pressure caused Todoroki to retreat to a safe distance.

Bakugou then launched himself at Todoroki, and when the hybrid tried to freeze Bakugou, the blonde dodged by using an explosion to shift his angle of view before grabbing Todoroki by the head and throwing. Quickly, Todoroki created a wall of ice to land on.

Still on his wall of ice, Todoroki advanced on his opponent. When Bakugou went in for another attack, Todoroki grabbed his lead arm to which a booming voice could be heard from a stand.

" Use it Shoto! Your left side!" Endeavor encouraged, but Todoroki decided otherwise and instead tossed Bakugou to the side.

Bakugou landed roughly, but when he stable his stance, he looked up at Todoroki with narrowed eyes. " Why don't you use it? Am I not enough of a threat for you to be scare?! What makes that shitty nerd better?!"

" Looks like someone had been doing his research." Sakura commented. " With the way Firecracker went for Todoroki's left side and timed his attacks, I say he has a solid good chance of winning. On the other hand though, Todoroki isn't doing so bad himself."

" I want an indisputable win!" Bakugou shouted as he went onto more of his shouting. " Why are you just standing there you bastard?!"

With built of rage, Bakugou took actions once more, running at his opponent to get a closer range of battle area. On Todoroki's face, it was written of the unsureness the boy was feeling within himself. Sakura wanted to shout out to him to not give in, but Midoriya beat her to it.

" Todoroki! Don't lose! Do your best!" Midoriya shouted, getting up from his seat in the heat of the moment.

Todoroki's left side burst into flames a few seconds later, and he then held up his hand, ready for an attack. Meanwhile, Bakugou had launched into the air, whirling around all over the place. Before long, with all the explosions and spins going on, Bakugou created a tornado from his Quirk.

And just before Bakugo landed his final attack, Todoroki took back his flames, causing Sakura to jump up form her seat. She found herself staring in horror when Bakugo released his explosion, resulting in a cloud of thick smoke and a smell of something burning. Heat waves washed over Sakura's face, sending her hair flying back while she squinted to see what was going to happen next.

" It looks like Todoroki didn't fire the huge blast like he did with Midoriya!" Present Mic pointed out, much to the obvious. " And the winner is...Bakugou!"

Speaking of Bakugou, the boy was anything but gloating over his victory. Instead, he seemed to be fuming, yelling and spitting fire like when he was near Midoriya. " First Bubblegum holding back on me, now you! Stop screwing around you bastard! Wake up!"

The blonde had marched over to his unconscious opponent and manhandle the knocked out boy. But Bakugou's rage drifted out when Midnight released her Quirk and causing the blonde to pass out on the spot.

" The winner of the first-year U.A. Sports festival is Katsuki Bakugou from Hero Course's Class A!" Present Mic declared at last.

* * *

Fireworks were released into the sky as the award ceremony was started. And a platform was brought out, showing off the first, second, and third place takers, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Sakura who had tied with Iida. However, Iida was unable to show up due to a sudden family emergency that caused the boy to hurriedly leave.

The ceremony started after Bakugou woke up, which was some times later, but the moment he did, he was struggling to get free from the hold of the restraining chains the Pros brought out. The blonde spat and hissed to the point the teachers had to add a face mask on him to keep him from going wild.

" Quit it Firecracker!" Sakura scolded as she looked up at the boy from her pedestal. " Be happy, okay?"

While the pinkette scolded at Bakugou and at the same time tried to clam him down, she couldn't help but cast her gaze over to Todoroki occasionally. Not surprisingly, he was silent. The press crowd around the winners, holding up their microphone and cameras to which Sakura had to squint to see things pass them.

" Iida was also suppose to be up here," Midnight announced. " But due to family matter, he wasn't able to attend."

Sakura grew silent, remembering what Iida had told her, Midoriya, and Uraraka before he had left. It seems something had happened to Iida's older brother that needed immediate attention right away, and whatever it was, it wasn't good considering the look of grief on Iida's face.

Suddenly, All Might came landing in front of the audience with an entrance to remember. The pinkette noted that the hero had changed into his costume as well as transform into the form he only showed to the public as the Symbol Of Peace.

" I'm here to award the medals to the three presented winers!" All Might declared, grinning widely as usual.

At seeing All Might, the crowd went wild, as if another epic battle was happening. To them, it seemed impossible to see the Symbol Of Peace up close until now, but here he was, grinning like he always appear to do. As Midnight held out the medals, All Might reached for the one belonging to Sakura. And with a aura of proudness, the pro stood in front of the pinkette.

" You are my, as well as Tsunade's, Cherry Blossom Of The Spring." All Might revealed to the world; telling them that this pink haired girl was someone who they could look up to for hope in the future when she becomes a official pro hero. Some one they could rely on. "And one day, may you be the world's as well. Congratulation on your win."

Once more, All Might ruffled the pinkette's hair after placing the medal around her neck. With one last grin in Sakura's way, All Might moved onto the next winner. All Might said his congratulation as he placed the medal around Todoroki's neck, but stayed in front of the boy after he was done, debating on how to bring a certain topic up.

" I assume there's a reason you didn't use your left side in the finals?" All Might asked more then stated.

Todoroki nodded in reply. " After my match with Midoriya, I became unsure of myself. Haruno was out there defending me, and I guess I didn't want my father to think he had won as well. I still have something to settle though."

All Might nodded in understanding as he went in for a hug, and after he was done, he moved onto Bakugou who was still in his own world of rage. Before giving the blonde his medal, All Might removed the face mask which only allowed Bakugou's shouting to be heard.

" Good job coming through with that you said in your pledge." All Might encouraged with a thumbs up, bring the medal to Bakugou's neck as he got closer.

Bakugou clenched his jaw before he exploded, refusing to accept the award with all his might to which the audience could only stare dumfounded at the situation. " I don't want that medal! Get it away from me! First place in this situation in not acceptable! I said I don't want it!"

In the end, All Might ended up placing the medal in Bakugou's mouth since he kept moving his head around. And because it was the only place to let the medal hand beside the neck. The pro then turned over to the rest of the students. " They were the winners this time. But I assure you, the next generation of heroes are promising! Everyone, please say it with me! Ready, go- "

" Plus Ultra!"

" Thank you for your hard work!" All Might said instead, to which the crowd started booing at the the pro's mess up of words.

* * *

When they all cleaned up and the audience left, the students made their way back to their homeroom class for further instructions. Aizawa looked over his student once they were all seated and let out a sigh, ready to make an announcement.

" There will be no school tomorrow or the day after so you all have a two day rest from the sports festival." Aizawa declared. " And because the day's coming to an end and I'm sure you're all tired, class dismiss. You can all head home now."

As the teacher left the room to head back to his own home, the class was left behind, and before long, the whole class burst into shouts and cheers. Giddy, Uraraka crowd around Sakura's desk, her face split into a large smile

" I'm so happy for you Sakura-chan!" Uraraka gushed to which the pinkette let out a chuckle at her antics. " I can't wait for the other Sports Festival for the other years!"

Sakura's eyes went to the room's door just in time to see Todoroki walking out. Feeling as if she still needed to say something to him, Sakura stood up from her seat, but not before sending the brunette an apologetic smile.

" I have to go somewhere. How about during the two days of no school we catch up? Maybe a sleepover with the rest of the girls? Or just a trip to the mall? Lets call tonight to make plans." Sakura suggested, smiling softly.

" Sounds good to me." Uraraka chirped as Sakura grabbed ahold of her bag to head out. " Bye! Oh, and be safe on your way home!"

" Same goes to you Ochaco! See you soon!" Sakura bid, and once she was out of the classroom, she rushed outside so she could catch up with the boy.

The pinkette didn't know why, but she felt as if she needed to do something to end the competitive wall that was built during the festival. And even though she didn't know exactly she wanted to say, Sakura knew that she was going to regret not running after the boy if she didn't. Yet, when Todoroki came into view, the words spilled out smoothly.

" My name's Sakura Haruno," The pinkette called out even though she knew for sure that the boy already had known who she was, and when Todoroki turned around to look at her, she stopped running and stood still as she cupped her hands so her voice would travel outward. " And I want to be your friend!"

There was a moment of silence as the wind weaved through Sakura's and Todoroki's hair. But nether the less, the two students didn't break eye contact. Finally, Todoroki was the first to make the next move, pushing his hair out of his face in the process.

" Shouto Todoroki. I look forward to our friendship, Sakura Haruno." The boy said. But before turning away to walked back home like Sakura expected the boy to do right after, Todoroki offered the girl a soft smile that complimented the sunset behind him. Todoroki then gave a small wave as he turned his back and started to walk once more.

Ba-dum

Ba-dum

Ba-dum

And at that moment, Sakura knew that she had fell, not once, but twice that day. Each time with a different person.


	21. Series I: Twenty One

The day after the Sports Festival, Sakura woke up with a start. She sat in bed as memories of what had happened yesterday sunk in. One that caused her to groan in frustration was the one where she came back home and searched up if it was okay to like two people at the same time.

Only now remembering the medal on the dest, the pinkette got up and grabbed it, turning it around to see the carvings on it. Smiling softly, Sakura placed the medal into the box that also held her unopened U.A. acceptance letter.

" Ah, I have to meet up with the others." Sakura mumbled to herself, recalling the phone call she had with Uraraka where they agreed to have a sleepover as well as take a visit to the mall with the girls from Class A. Right now, it was already nine, and she need to be there by ten or so.

Still yawning slightly, Sakura entered her bathroom and did her usual routine. Twenty minutes later, she came out refreshed and with her hair combed thoroughly. Slowly, as if she had all the time in the world, Sakura went through her closet.

The pinkette spotted an oversize long sleeve shirt with black and white stripes along with a jean skirt and her eyes lit up. Quickly, Sakura replaced her self tie shorts with the jean skirt and her tank top with the long sleeve t-shirt.

Once she was dresses, Sakura smoothed down invisible wrinkles before making her way to the door. As the pinkette locked the door behind her, thoughts of the two boys consumed her mind to the point she had almost forgot to order take out for tonight. Quickly she called a restaurant and ordered pasta that should be delivered at around eleven at night. Once she finished, the pinkette heard a familiar voice calling her.

" Sakura-chan!" Uraraka cheered when the pinkettte reached them. " Do you want to eat first?"

Sakura nodded happily in reply. " Sure, sure! I still haven't had breakfast yet. Where do you want to go, a cafe or a restaurant? Either one is fine by me."

" To the cafe!" Ashido announced to which the other girls agreed to as well.

As they navigate their way around to a cafe they could all agree on, many whispers could be heard from groups they would pass. After the sports festival, they were now all recognize, as either a student, or someone already looked up to. Occasionally a stranger would come up and congratulate them personally.

After another such occasion, Yaoyorozu smiled softly. " It's truly nice to know that we've been recognize as future heroes."

" I kinda- ribbit- just wished that I had passed the second challenge -ribbit- and made it to the tournament." Asui commented, a finger on her chin in a thinking position as per usual. " Speaking of tournament, Ochaco-chan, you did really good."

Uraraka sheepishly rubbed the back of her hand in a bashful manner. " Ah, you're making me blush. But I think everyone did good, I mean we all had passed onto the calvary battle, didn't we? So hurray to us!"

" Okay, we're down to two option, finally!" Sakura declared. " It's either the Go Lucky Cafe or the Cafe Flower. I'm all for Go Lucky, raise your hand if you find that Cafe Flower seems more fun to go to."

After a second or two, no one raise their hands, showing that Go Lucky was their option. Hagakure led the group in, eager to see the menu. Once everyone was seated, and all had a view of the menu, the girls erupted into chatter.

" Look! They serve blueberry pancake with low sugar syrup here!"

" Cappuccino! Cappuccino!"

Sakura shared a menu with Uraraka, both still trying to figure out some choices that they would like. As Sakura's eyes traveled down into the bottom left of a page, her eyes lit up in delight. " Ah, they serve basil flavor macaron also? The ones in Konoha were my favorite!"

" You guys, I've been here before and I promise you won't regret getting the honey tea!" Hagakure announced excitedly.

Uraraka let out a laugh and nodded along. " Sure! Lets all get that as drinks. So have everyone decided on anything else yet? Sakura and I are thinking about getting some Basil flavor macarons. Any one else with the same thought?"

As the girls finished up deciding on their choices, they called over a server once they had everything sorted. Smoothly, Yaoyorozu ordered their choices, which was a bit much since majority of them couldn't figure out which dish they wanted most. For the bill that came, everyone paid their share.

" Your orders will arrive at most in ten minutes." The waiter informed before walking off.

Asui turned to Sakura with a curious stare. " I -ribbit- hope your parents are okay with five girls coming over. Are they -ribbit- out for the night or something?"

The pinkette shook her head in answer before letting out a sigh. " My parents travel a lot, and they left me in the care of Lady Tsunade when I was thirteen. In fact, Lady Tsunade was the one who bought me the house I'm living in, she basically took over as my guardian."

" Nice, so we have the whole house to ourself, right?" Ashido grinned widely.

Sakura suddenly remembered about the park near her place as she thought of things to do once they headed back. " Are you guys okay with a late night run? There's this awesome park near my house, and I'm positive no one's using it tonight."

" That sounds like fun, I'm down." Jiro said, leaning back into her chair in a relaxing manner. " I just hope they don't mind some loud music."

" Don't worry, the park's really big and it has a forest." The pinkette assured, remembering how the ruckus she had once created while taking down some trees didn't even stir any close neighborhoods. " Look! Our orders are here!"

The girls watched as the server placed their orders down for them, and when he left, they moved the dished around to it's rightful owner. Gently, Sakura reached for her macarons, careful to not crush the treat as she took a bite out if it.

" It's so good!" Sakura sighed dreamily. " Ochaco, you've got to try it right now. Come on Tsu, I think you'll like it as well."

The results with Uraraka and Asui were similar to those of Sakura's, finding the flavor both unique and sweet. And even though sweets weren't exactly what Sakura would normally qualify as breakfast, the pinkette finished her order and moved on to her drink.

Slowly, she took tiny sips to savor the taste. " So after this, we'll be walking around the mall for sometime, and when we're done, we'll be heading over to my place. Right?"

" Yep!" Uraraka answered. " I'm surprised you told us not to bring a sleeping bag, do you have extra guess rooms?"

" Two, I think." Sakura replied. " But how about crashing in the living room instead? I have these pullout couch completed with extra pillows and blankets."

Ashido grinned as she stood up, having finished eating her food. " Cool! I brought some movies with me also, lets stay up late and watch them! I've got romance if we're in a fluffy mood, thriller if we feel daring, and action to get our hearts racing!"

" With those options, we'll be staying up til early morning to get through each movie!" Hagakure cheered.

One after another, everyone finished their food and got up. The group of girls made their way over to the nearest clothes shop and entered with an excited air hanging around them. Quickly, they separated into groups of two or three, agreeing to get back together after twenty minutes so they could go to the changing rooms together.

Hagakure and Ashido went to one section, Jiro and Yaoyorozu wandered over to another rack of clothes, and Sakura, Uraraka, and Asui found themselves in a different corner of the shop. After a minute or so, Asui came out with a dark green spaghetti strapped dress that went down passed her knee.

" That would look so cute on you! Try a short sleeve shirt under it, maybe tan or white, it would finish the look off for you." Uraraka advised.

After awhile, Sakura found herself calling out for Uraraka, a look of excitement on the pinkette's face. " Wouldn't this circle skirt look good on you? The purple would go well with that shirt you're holding."

" Really? Sure, I'll try it on then!" The brunette promised, taking the skirt and hanging it on her arm.

As the clock ticked by, the girls gathers racks of clothing in their hands, which grew by each minute. Finally, when the time came, they stopped the search and made their way over to the changing rooms. Yaoyorozu was the first to volunteer to go first so the others could say either yes or no on her choice of outfits.

After a few minutes, the tall girl came out wearing an outfit that caused the others to firmly agree she should buy the clothes. One by one, everyone took their turns, and in the end, they had spent over seven hours at the mall. Including the fifteen minutes spent at the cashier.

" Better get a move on, it's already five." Jiro reminded, two bags hanging from one of her arm.

Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement, looking up at the clock on the wall. " Good idea. It's best to get back before the sun completely goes down. Beside, I think we've spent enough for one store."

" Sure, I don't think we need stop for anything either. I've bought some ingredients for strawberry mousse yesterday, lets get back and start mixing!" Sakura grinned, leading the way toward the exit of the mall.

As they all made their way over to the pinkette's place, the sun dipped down behind the trees slowly. Quickly, Sakura unlocked her doors once she got there and motioned for the girls to follow her in. The pinkette told them to put their bags in one of the guest room and get change if they wanted to.

" But a quick reminder, we're going for a run at ten." Sakura announced. " I'm going to wash my face and change into shorts and a t-shirt. There're extra towels in the closet if anyone else want to wash their face.

The pinkette entered the bathroom, turned on the water and splashed it onto her face . ten minutes later, Sakura came out in different clothing while drying her face. After seeing the pinkette come out, Asui went in to freshen up herself.

Sakura noticed Ashido's and Hagakure's voice in the living room, picking out the first movie to watch, and when the pinkette went into the kitchen, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Jiro were busy trying to place the mousse ingredients out.

" Ah, Sakura-chan, where's the sugar?" Uraraka asked, noticing the girl while opening a drawer.

The pinkette walked over and reached for the drawer next to the one Uraraka was opening. " I've got the sugar. Can you get the strawberries for me?"

Gradually, the ingredients were found and placed on the counter. And by the time the four girls started hulling the strawberries, Asui, Ashido, and Hagakure had enter in to help out as well. Yaoyorozu placed Sakura, Asui, and Jiro in charged of cutting the strawberries while the others continued on culling.

" And once we're done, we'll make strawberry pureed. Does anyone know where the lemon juice is?" Yaoyorozu asked, placing her knife down.

Uraraka looked up and pointed to the opposite counter. " The cup of lemon juice is over there. Lets get out a sauce pan as well."

" I'll get it." Sakura volunteer, reaching down to open one of the bottom drawer. Pulling out the pan and placing it on the burner, Sakura filled it with the finished strawberries while Uraraka pour in some sugar. After Yaoyorozu spilled the lemon juice in, everyone made their way to the living room which was right next door. " We'll take turns checking on it while watching a movie. So what did you two have in mind of us?"

" Romance for now, but once we get settle in for the night with our mousse, it's thriller!" Ashido cheered, pumping her fist while Hagakure slipped the movie disk in.

Curious at what may come on, Sakura sat on the edge of the couch and waited for the movie to start. During the movie, the the girls not just took turn checking on the strawberries, but also squealing when a romantic scene came on.

" Ugh! Why can't Aki see just pick Riku already!" Hagakure complained, referring to the main character and the childhood crush even though it was obvious that Aki was going to end up with the new transfer student, Haru.

Suddenly, Asui's voice came form the kitchen. " The pureed is -ribbit- done!"

Since making strawberry mousse didn't take a lot of people, Jiro, Ashido, and Hagakure stayed behind in the living room while Sakura, Uraraka, and Yaoyorozu went into the kitchen to meet up with Asui. When the pinkette entered, she found the frog-like girl straining the pureed of it's seeds.

" Now we have to boil it, right?" Uraraka asked Yaoyorozu who nodded in reply.

Sakura had finished rinsing the pan and handed it over to Yaoyorozu. " Here, is there anything else we need?"

" Unflavored gelatin, and we also need to get the whip cream started." The black haired girl said as she started to boil the pureed and add the unflavored gelatin in.

As Yaoyorozu kept watch over the burner, Sakura got out the heavy whipping cream while Asui poured in some sugar. Mixing the two ingredient into a bowl, Sakura used a whisked to blend them together. After awhile, the whip cream reached it's soft peak and the pinkette stopped stirring.

At the same time, Yaoyorozu finished the strawberry syrup. Carefully, Uraraka filled the whip cream into seven snifter cup, and once she finished, Yaoyorozu poured in a generous amount of the strawberry syrup in each cup.

" There's some cake pieces in one of the drawer as well as some chopped chocolate, I'll bring out a bowl of those while you guys hand out the cups." Sakura said as she pulled out two bowls. " Oh, and I'll also bring out the spoons for us."

After a minute or two, the pinkette came out of the kitchen with two bowls filled with either cake piece for chopped chocolate, and also seven spoons. Sakura placed the two bowls on the table and handed out the spoons to each girl to which she was handed a cup of her own.

Once everyone got settled into their seat, things were silent as the romance movie finished up. And when it reached the end, everyone had also finished their dessert. One by one everyone stood up and stretched.

" Look, it's almost ten. Lets get change -ribbit- into warmer clothes before heading -ribbit- out for our run." Asui said when she checked the clock.

Sakura let out a yawn as she made her way to her room to grab a sweater. " Once we finish our run, the take out I had order earlier this morning should get here by now. I hope you guys didn't mind eat dessert first. And not to mention we're having dinner so late."

" Nah, I kinda like the arrangement for today." Ashido assured as she zipped up a jacket. " Now come one, lets tackle this jog!"

The pinkette led the way out to the park, and in a group they ran around the perimeter of the forest. Jiro blasted out loud music from her phone which got the girls joking and laughing while running.

" We haven't spoke much about the sports festival even though I'm sure we were all excited for it." Hagakure pointed out. " So come one, what are your thoughts?"

" It was really stressful!" Sakura huffed, but her lips parted into a smile that all the other girls returned knowingly. " But I think we can all agree that the sports festival was..."

"...Plus Ultra!" The group shouted into the crips night air in unison before bursting out into laughter.

After awhile, the pinkette felt her phone vibrating, signaling that the delivery guy was heading to her house right now. Grinning slightly, Sakura held up her phone for the others to see the location of the delivery guy." Lets play a game. Who ever gets to the house before the delivery guy and the rest of us first wins!"

And instantly after hearing Sakura's words, the girls used their Quirk to reach the pinkette's house first. Yaoyorozu produced a metal rod to launch herself from a place to another, Uraraka lightened her clothing, Ashido used her acid as a sliding zone, Asui leaped, and because Jiro and Hagakure couldn't use their Quirk in this situation, they simply ran.

Sakura on the other hand guided the flow of her Quirk into her legs, giving her inhuman strength that easily won her a spot up front. This was her first time using her Quirk since yesterday, and all thoughts of the malfunctions had been forgotten until now. Her Quirk was doing just fine, nothing out of the ordinary as if it only acted up during the sports festival because of Sakura's nerves.

 _It was probably nothing._ Sakura thought to herself.

The race finished with Yaoyorozu pulling ahead by producing another metal rod at such a rapid speed that it had launched her right in front of the house's door step. And right on time too because the delivery guy had just arrived as well.

" Uh, here?" The man said, handing the food over to Sakura when she reached Yaoyorozu's side. " That'll be twenty forty-six."

The pinkette fished for the money in her pocket and handed it over with a tired smile. The delivery man left with a tip of his hat as the girls entered the house one by one, each with a take out box that Sakura had handed to them. But instead of digging in right away, they took turns showering first, which took a whole hour and a half.

Once they had all finished and were in their pajama, Ashido, Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Asui got under the covers Sakura had brought out after her shower and opened their dinner boxes. On the other couch was Sakura, Hagakure, and Uraraka, each with their own dinner as well.

They had already placed the thriller movie in, now they just had to wait for it to start while hoping no scene would catch them by surprise. Thankfully, they all got through the movie without one of them throwing their food up into the air in fright, or someone destroying the TV when scared.

" Hand your trash over here, I'll throw them away." Sakura said, reaching for the finished boxes. When the pinkette came back, she found that Yaoyorozu as well as Hagakure were sound asleep. Quietly she got into her own covers, motioning for the others to be quiet as well. " It's already one in the morning, lets get some sleep."

" Goodnight." Uraraka wished the others to which they all returned the words. And soon, everyone fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, everyone woke up around nine and ten, Ashido being the last and Yaoyorozu the first. The first three that got up busied themselves with breakfast, which was blueberry pancakes with syrup.

Chatting among themselves, everyone had their breakfast before they headed back home. The pinkette saw her friends off at her door, having to remind them of their shopping bags in the guest room when they were about to leave with their simple bag of casual clothing from yesterday.

" Bye Sakura-chan, see you tomorrow at school!" Uraraka called, waving her hand in the air as she started to walk back home.

" Thanks -ribbit- for yesterday." Asui said, giving Sakura a hug.

Once everyone had said their good-byes, Sakura closed her door and jumped into her bed. Now that the girls had went back home, the pinkette had nothing else to do. But because of all the excitement that had all happened for the past few days, Sakura figured it was time for a more relaxing break.

Pulling out a book from the bookshelf near her bed, Sakura flipped to the first chapter and started to read. She didn't remember when, but while reading, she found herself drifting off to sleep, but before she did, a voice rang through her mind.

 **"We'll meet soon."**


	22. Series I: Twenty Two

The next day, Sakura peeked through her window just in time to see the rain and gloom of the morning. Yawning, she made her way over to her bathroom to wash up before getting dressed for school. As the pinkette ran out the house, she grabbed her bag as well as an umbrella.

The walk to school was quiet for Sakura, the is, until someone came up to her with a wide smile. A little boy, around five or so, ran up to the pinkette and tugged on the hem of her jacket, a wide grin on his face when Sakura looked down.

" You're Sakura Haruno! You're Quirk is really cool!" The little boy commented, making a sort of gesture with his hands. " The stage went bam every time you were on it!"

The pinkette laughed nervously, looking around to see if the kid belonged to anyone near by. When she didn't see anyone that seemed to know the boy anywhere, The pinkette bent down and placed a hand on the boy's head. " That's me, Sakura Haruno. And you are?"

" Asahi Misaki, and I'm going to become strong just like All Might!" He declared loudly.

Before Sakura could say anything else, a woman came running over with a worried expression. Frantically the unknown woman hugged the boy, before looking up at Sakura, a smile on her face. " I'm so sorry about that! I'm Asahi's mom, nice to meet you."

" Sakura Haruno." The pinkette smile, holding out her hand to shake.

The woman took it as she stood up, her other hand holding her son's gently. " I know. You did great during the sports festival. Asahi really looks up to you! He says he wants to become a pro hero and go to U.A. just like you."

" Well then, I suppose I should be honor, I'm meeting a future hero right now aren't I?" Sakura smiled and waved to the boy. " I better get going. Bye Asahi!"

And on the pinkette went, to only encounter more people who stopped to either say hello or congratulate her. By the time she made it to U.A.'s gate, over ten people had already talked to her. And to say she wasn't flatter was a lie.

" Good morning Sakura-chan!" Uraraka greeted, giving the pinkette a small hug.

Sakura smiled as she sat down at her desk. " Morning to you too, Ochaco. So how was your walk to school?"

" It was great!" The brunette declared. And from there, students of Class A all discussed about how their was going so far. And it seemed that many of them all had strangers come up to them about the sports festival.

However, when Aizawa entered the room, everyone was seated in their own desk and as quiet as ever. The Pro slowly walked over to his desk, and when he made it, his eyes scanned the classroom as he let out a sigh. " Today, we'll be having a a special hero informative class. We'll be coming up with code names."

At those words, the class erupted into cheers. But they all went silent after Aizawa flashed his eyes at them in warning. As Aizawa explained what exactly was going to happen, he suddenly pulled out a remote and pressed a button.

" These are the offers to our class. In other years, the offers were all spread out, but this year, eyes were mainly on Bakugou, Todoroki, and Haruno." Aizawa informed, moving out of the way so everyone could see their offers as well as their classmates's.

" Todoroki got more offers than Bakugou?" Jiro questioned with a raised eyebrow. " Surprising since Bakugou was the one who had won instead."

From in front of Sakura, Todoroki merely stayed still. " They're all probably because of my dad."

Sakura, who had the third most offers herself, poked the boy with the end of her pencil. " What about your skills? What about your talent? Don't say your father was the one who carried you all the way up there you idiot when you were the one who worked hard."

Todoroki turned his head over to Sakura with a blank face, but the pinkette couldn't help but remember his smile, and before she knew it, her heart skipped a beat. Todoroki on the other hand didn't seem to know the effect he had on the girl.

" Thanks." The boy mumbled out as he turned back to the front, not seeing the blush creeping up on Sakura's cheeks.

Softly groaning into her arms, the pinkette allowed her blush to grow for awhile, making sure to tuck her face into her arms so no one would noticed. She peaked out from between her fingers after a minute later to see Todoroki's back, and when she saw his calm demeanor, her blush died down and was instead replaced with a soft smile.

" Whether you got offers or not, you will all be participating in an internship with pros." Aizawa continued on, sparking interest in his students. " We hope for you to witness a pro at work first handed with this experience."

" So that's why we're thinking up of hero names today!" Kaminari commented, getting a couple of cheers from the students around him.

Aizawa rubbed his temple, his usual tired look on. " Yes, but the hero names are only temporary..."

"...But if you don't take it seriously, you'll have hell to pay!" Midnight finished for Aizawa as she strutted in, causing a distraction among some of the boys. " The hero names you come up with will be recognized by society, and they'll then become professional hero names."

" Midnight will be the one making sure your hero names are okay since I can't handle those kind of things." Aizawa yawned, pulling up his trusty sleeping bag from behind his desk and making his way over to a corner.

As boards were passed out, Sakura thought about what she could possibly come up with. In al honesty, she hadn't really put much thoughts into a hero name for herself, and when she was faced with the decision now, her mind was blank.

 _A hero name will come along with a title. I can't just think of a meaningful one in a classroom randomly!_ Sakura grumbled to herself.

Sakura raked her mind for anything that may be half-way okay for now, but none came to mind. It wasn't just because she hadn't thought of a hero name before, but also because the pinkette remembered All Might's words to her before the sports festival.

The pinkette wanted her name to be inspiring, as well as a name that would spark hope. Suddenly, up front, Midnight called for those who were finished with there names. " Lets started presenting now, is anyone ready?"

At those words, Sakura gulped. Not only had she not thought of a name yet, but she also had to present it to others as well. And it seem that it wasn't just Sakura who were nervous about going up front and declaring their hero name. In the meantime Aoyama was the first to raise his hand.

" Here I do..." The blonde announced as he slowly held up his board. " Shining Hero: I Can Not Stop Twinkling. It means you can't stop my sparkles!"

The pinkette stared dumbfounded at his idea, finding it rather odd for a hero name, not to mention that it was a whole sentence. However, Midnight didn't seem to mind as she only took out some of his words and shortened it to Can't Stop Twinkling, causing the class to continue to stare dumbfounded.

" All right, anyone else?" Midnight asked as she looked around after Aoyama went back to his seat. " Okay, come on up Ashido. Lets see what you came up with."

Ashido happily skipped to the front, and proudly displayed her board. " My hero name, Alien Queen - two!

At this point, Midnight had no choice but to shut the idea down as she sent Ashido back to her desk. " Okay, does else have an idea. A decent enough one if you don't mind."

" I'll go." Asui offered, and she made her way up front. Once there, the frog-like girl flipped her board around so others could see her idea. " Rainy Season Hero: Froppy. I had this idea -ribbit- since I was little."

Sakura frowned at herself. She just couldn't think of a good code name for her. And she didn't exactly want to recklessly decide on a name in a few minutes. At Kirishima went on next, the pinkette was still thinking of what to present. She could always go with a mash up of her name and Quirk, but Sakura brushed the idea away. Or maybe she could simply go with her normal name until the time comes.

Reluctantly, Sakura raised her hand after writing down her first name. Once she got to the front desk she held out her board with a soft smile. " Sakura. I can't really think of a name at the moment, nor can I think of a title. So I'll play it safe for now."

" That's a good choice. Better to play safe then recklessly dive head first into the unknown." Midnight commented. " Anyone else?"

As the pinkette walked back to her desk, her mind was no longer filled with thoughts of a hero name but instead with the internship. She had decided since All Might brought it up that she was going to go to Tsunade. And Tsunade had already confirmed that she was going to take a week off from being principal and hand the duty over to Kakashi for awhile.

Tsuande had also said something about keeping Sakura from the Konoha Twelve, referring to All Might's advice to the pinkette. So instead, Sakura and Tsuande were going over to a different city rather then to Konoha. And to be honest, Sakura really didn't mind.

Up front, the class presented their name one by one until only Iida, Midoriya, and Bakugou was left. But soon, Iida went up, deciding also on his first name, and after him went Midoriya. When the green haired boy showed off his board, Sakura couldn't help but raised an eyebrow.

" Are you okay with that?" Kaminari asked, referring to the name Midoriya had wrote. " It might stick to you forever."

" Yeah, I'm okay with this. This name use to bring misfortune to me, but someone changed that for me." Midoriya announced. " This is my hero name: Deku!"

" You go Deku!" Sakura cheered as she jumped up from her seat and pumped her fist in the air. Her eyes softened when she noticed how Midoriya's handwriting was wobbly and thick, showing he had traced it over and over. This was exactly what she meant by picking a meaningful name.

The pinkette laughed as Midoriya flushed at the sudden out burst, and when the boy walked back to his seat, he caught Sakura's eyes. He gave the pinkette a confident smile as he sat down to which Sakura returned him one of her own. Finally, the last one to go was Bakugou, coming up with the idea of Lord Explosion Murder. But it was quickly shut down.

" Okay, now that you're all done, those who have offers from Pros can select which one they want to go to. For those who don't, there's agencies who'll take you in." Aizawa suddenly said, yawning with each word. " The internship will last a whole week."

" I want to fight crime in urban areas!" Kirishima declared as he was handed his list of possibilities.

And when Sakura was handed her own, the first name on top was Tsuande Senju, as expected. The pinkette had gotten over thee thousand offers, and heroes such as Kamui Woods were also part of the list.

" Turn your choice in before the end of the week, got it?" Aizawa asked as he and Midnight walked out the class room, leaving Class A to wait on their next teacher. " Class dismissed."

* * *

Soon, lunch time rolled around, and it seemed not everyone had decided on who they were going to yet. And Sakura had yet to turn in her decision as well, she was planning on doing it at the end of the day. Midoriya on the other hand was still debating on which agency maybe his best choice.

" You're still thinking hard, aren't you?" Uraraka asked the boy sheepishly. " I've already decided on going to Battle Hero: Gunhead's Agency! What about you Sakura-chan?"

The pinkette held up her paper. " The Fifth Hokage Hero: Lady Tsuande. This will be one of the last time we train together, and she said she had a surprise for me to."

" _The_ Lady Tsunade?!" Ashido asked baffled. " She's an amazing hero, her strength only second to All Might. I heard she's a bit older then what she actual looks like. But that's not important, what is, is that Lady Tsuande was one of the best Hero of her generation. I heard she's now principal. Imagine that, having someone as inspiring as Lady Tsuande near by."

" I guess you can say that." Sakura grinned, remembering Tsuande's bad habit such as gambling as well as drinking. Not to mention her temper, something Sakura had also picked up. " I've been meaning to ask, but why're you trembling Deku?"

" Huh? Oh yeah, I'm doing the air chair exercise. It's an exercise without moving." Midoriya explained. " Anyway, lets head to lunch!"

* * *

At the end of the day, just as Sakura, Uraraka and Midoriya was about to head home, All Might suddenly appeared, asking to talk to Sakura and Midoriya alone. The pinkette waved to her brunette friend before walking away with All Might.

" What's up? Is something wrong?" Sakura asked All Might, to which the Pro handed her his phone.

" I have to talk to Young Midoriya, but Tsuande's on the other line right now and wishes to speak with you." All Might said, and right after he said that, Tsuande's voice came ranging out of the phone.

" Hey kid! You there?" Tsuande asked, causing the pinkette to hold the phone away from her ear. Excusing herself to the bathroom so All Might could talk to Midoriya, Sakura answered the woman. " Good, anyway, we'll be going to Hosu City, the place where the Hero Killer was last seen."

Sakura frowned at those words. " Are you sure? Why can't we just go over to Suna instead? I'm not so sure Hosu is such a good idea, one of my classmate's brother was severely injured there. It could happen to anyone."

" Exactly." Tsuande replied. " I don't want this to go on any longer. And incase Stain strikes again, we'll be able to help out. Beside, I had already rented a training ground there. I've got to go, Shizune's having trouble back at the school."

" You're not at school!?" Sakura asked, but it was too late, Tsuande had already hung up. " Seriously, she's like a kid!"

But despite her words, the pinkette was smiling. She glanced at herself in the mirror, and after flashing her eyes green, her hand reached up to covered one eye. The voice inside her head had said something about meeting soon. Whenever that day will be, the pinkette was going to be stronger then she was during the sports festival.

She _will_ become stronger.

* * *

Finally, the day came for when they were off to their internship. In Sakura's hand was her brief case, and in it was her new Hero costume. Ever since the villain's attack in the U.S.J. the repair team had been working on Sakura's new costume version. And on the girl's back was her backpack.

" Ah! I'm so excited!" Uraraka declared. " I'm positive Gunhead will be able to train me for proper battles!"

" Don't wear you costume in public, and don't drop them or anything." Aizawa went through with them once more. " Make sure you mind your manners with the pro heroes during your internship, I'm talking to you Mineta. Off with you now."

" Yes sir!" The class said in unison.

From there, everyone disbanded over to the train that were to take them to their destination. But before Sakura went over to her's, she gave Uraraka a hug, Iida a pat on the back, and Midoriya a ruffle to his hair. " I'll be waiting to see how you've all improve in a week."

With that said, the pinkette waved and walked away. On her way though, Sakura passed by a familiar person, to which she couldn't help but jump in front of him. Bakugou had one hand stuffed into his pockets and the other holding onto his case. Sakura's sudden appearance didn't even surprise him.

" Bubblegum." Bakugou merely greeted, causing the pinkette to huff.

" What's up with you, Mr. Lord Explosion Murder?" Sakura teased, leaning into his face. However, when Bakugo didn't step back and instead just look into her eyes, Sakura let out a sigh and stepped back. " You really never back down, do you?"

" You're one to talk." Bakugou shot back, a smirk on his face. " Look, you're train's here. Hurry up before you miss it and make me piggy-back ride you over to Hosu."

Sakura stuck out her tongue, but listened to the boy and made her way to her train. However, with one foot in the doorway, Sakura whirl back and faced Bakugou, causing the boy to raise an eyes brow in curiosity.

" See you in a week Firecracker. But until then, lets keep in touch." Sakura held up her phone, Bakugou's number already saved on it. With that said, the pinkette stepped into the train with one final smile. And as the train started to leave, Bakugou was left bearing a smirk.

" Until then, Bubblegum."


	23. Series I: Twenty Three

The train ride over to Hosu City was plain and simple to the point before Sakura knew it, she had already arrived. At the train station, Tsunade waited for her student with a wide grin. The pinkette raced over to the older woman, to which Tsunade ruffled the girl's hair with affection.

" Come on kiddo, lets get over to the place I rented so you can change into your costume." Tsunade informed, leading the way out.

As the two made their way over to Tsunade's place, Sakura couldn't help but go on about the sports festival. At one point, Sakura brought up the voice, causing Tsunade to stay silent for awhile in deep thoughts.

" Go on and get change, and when you finish, there will be no more casual conversation. This will be my last time training you, so you better be ready to suffer a lot more then you did when you first started." Tsunade announced, sending the girl off.

The pinkette pouted as she entered the bathroom. " But I've already mastered the basic of your Quirk."

" Come on kid, we're losing daylight!" Tsunade called after. " Today we'll be going over combat. During the sports festival, yes you were strong, but you lacked both speed and technique in your movements. I could literally see your next attack just by the way you position yourself. The brazilian kick you did was the only thing that stood out to me."

" Boo." Sakura let out in disappointment. She let out a sigh as she opened up her case to find that her new costume was exactly what she had in mind.

She quickly got undressed and slipped into the red high neck romper. The romper had a simple white circle on the chest while it lined the hem at the bottom. Compared to her other suit, the romper was made of a cortex fiber that allowed the wearer to stretch and take on a good amount of hits without it tearing.

Next came on the tight arm warmer, however, under the warmer was a thin layer of sports tape. The tape went an inch passed the arm warmer so it was visible on one end. The purpose was to allow the pinkette to maintain a stable position of bones as well as muscles.

Around Sakura's waist was a tool belt loaded with her blades. However, she had added extra rolls of tape incase the ones she was currently wearing get worn out. Last but not least, the combat boot was soon placed on.

The boots were just below Sakura's knee, and just like her arms, sports tape were wrapped around her knee cap as well as her ankle for the same reason. The boots, rather then have shoe laces, had heavy buckles and a sort of belt near the ankle.

" I done!" Sakura sang, walking out of the bathroom with a confident smile. " Lets go!"

Tsunade gestured for the pinkette to follow her, and soon, they had entered a training ground that was similar to the ones back in Konoha. Suddenly, without any warning, Tsunade launched a packed fist at the teen, but stopped an inch from Sakura's face.

" Your reflects have gotten slow. You're lacking analyzing skills as well as speed. Kid, you've gotten dull." Tsuande said with a smirk. " Lets see how long you last in a mock spar with me. No Quirk involved."

At those words, Tsunade came up with a sharp jab that Sakura could hardly dodge. But luckily, the pinkette had stepped to the side, and after seeing a chance to invade, Sakura swiped a kick to her mentor's side. To the pinkette's misfortune, Tsunade dodged as well as counter that attack.

Quickly, after recovering from a punch to the abdomen, Sakura charged in once more, fist pulled back in advance. When she reached Tsunade, the woman pushed forth a punch of her own. The two fist collided heavily, but neither removed the position they were in.

Tsuande's eyebrows scrunched up in thoughts, and after awhile the woman's hand retreated to her side. " Today, we'll work on speed and technique. Once you've master some aspect of those, we'll move onto your healing ability. Between the week I have with you, I want to try out a different theory of your Quirk. And tonight, lets talk about this voice as well."

Sakura nodded in agreement. Tsunade's plan was reasonable, the pinkette really did want to talk about the voice with Tsunade. Being a part time doctor, Tsunade had seen many cases of Quirk's malfunction as well as the develop of it and had thought of many theories of all kind.

" Okay, in advance I had set up targets on the trees earlier this morning, you're goal is to somehow attack each target in five minutes. In total, there are around one hundred and five targets." Tsunade confirmed. " Go!"

The pinkette took off, leaving a fog of dust from where she once stood. Seeing the first target, Sakura aimed a punch that went straight through. However, the girl frowned when she realized that with her current speed, she wouldn't be able to finish within the time limit.. Sakura guided her Quirk to her legs, something that would boost her speed up a bit.

Now, instead of simply giving the targets a good hit, Sakura either punched, kicked, or broke her way through the forest. She finished with grime in her hair due to the clouds of dust that she had created while in action.

" Seriously, just cut your hair." Tsunade advised. " Don't you think it's getting a bit long already?"

" I guess. I dunno, I'll cut it when I feel like it." Sakura replied, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. " So what now, I got faster, didn't I?"

The older woman only let out a snort. " Please, that exercise was nothing, just a warm up for you. For the real thing, it's both reflects and speed, you'll be going up against me, combat style. Quirks are still not allowed since you won't really be needing them."

Sakura grinned at those words. It's been awhile since teacher and student had gone up against each other in an actual battle. Sakura knew better then to underestimate Tsunade despite her age, the woman was still as tough and strong as she was in her younger years.

" Come on kid, I don't have all day." Tsunade taunt the girl, a smirk on her face when she saw her student's eye twitch.

" You asked for it!" Sakura reminded, and without another word, the pinkette ran forward, a fist pulled back. However, just when her fist was inches from Tsunade's abdomen, the woman held out an open palm and Sakura's fist landed on it instead.

" Faster." Tsunade encouraged. And when another fist went aiming at her face, Tsunade blocked it with her palm once more. " Come on Sakura, use your muscles!"

Taking the advice, Sakura launched another attack, a kick this time. But Tsuande caught her leg in a hold, and before Sakura knew it, the woman swung her back a few feet. After that, Tsunade was the first to start attacking.

She gave no time for the pinkette to collect her thoughts, or to decide on her next attack. Sakura was punched left and right, shoved to the ground, and kicked at. The pinkette now understood what her mentor meant about being slow. At the rate they were going, Sakura would lose the battle unless she started countering each attack.

It took awhile, including getting hit dozens of time before Sakura picked up her game. Just as a fist was about to collide against her abdomen, Sakura was able to grab Tsunade's arm and swat it away before it landed. But the fail attack was soon replaced with another punch that Sakura had barely blocked in time.

" Good, you're getting the hang of it." Tsunade remarked. " But what if I speed up?"

The next kick that came was at a speed Sakura couldn't see unless she concentrated. Tsunade's attack went from one in five seconds to three in five seconds, causing the pinkette to react faster when she felt an attack near.

Suddenly, after seeing Tsunade got into the stance she took when she was about to deliver an attack, Sakura knew exactly how to counter it. But it just wasn't one way to counter that came to mind, types of blocks as well as dodges ran thought the pinkette's mind within only a minute.

In the end, Sakura ended up grabbing Tsunade's leg and tossing the woman into a tree. However, Tsuande was able to react instantly and was able to reposition herself so she landed on her feet, skidding slightly once she was on stable ground.

Tsunade straightened up, cranking her neck to one side and stretching. " I'm getting old for this. Good work for today, but the sun's setting so lets get going."

" Okay!" Sakura nodded, running over to her mentor. Once the pinkette reached Tsunade, the woman placed a hand on the girl's shoulders and softly smile. " What? You never simply smile, what's up?"

" You caught on to my speed, as well as counter my attack." Tsuande pointe out. " I really am proud of you kid. Once the week is over, I won't be able to help you much longer, I have a school to manage now. And U.A. as well as All Might can only teach you so much. You'll have to start developing with yourself sooner or later."

" I know." Sakura said. For the rest of the walk back, they were silent. But after the pinkette changed in a t-shirt and shorts when they got back, she confronted Tsunade who was reading a book. " Can we talk about the voice now? I really need to get it out of the way."

" You might want to sit down, and here's a cup of tea for you." Tsunade offered, pushing a cup toward the girl. Once she was seated, Sakura noticed the title of the book Tsunade was reading and raised a brow. " Your Quirk, Chakra, is more than just an amount of energy."

Sakura titled her head to the side in confusion. " Huh? What do you mean? You confirmed that it was exactly that when you first took a look at it."

" I believe that over the year, the energy had taken a different form. Remember when you first started training under me?" Tsunade asked, and when she received a nod, she went on. " I told you start storing you energy somewhere in your body. Well, I think because of that, a second being grew inside your mind."

The pinkette snorted, of all the things Tsunade could've come to, it had to be something so unbelievable. But after seeing the serious look on the woman's face, Sakura frowned. " You can't be serious."

" But I am. And because of that, I started to come up with more theories of your Quirk." The blonde woman said, picking up the book. " Take a look."

Unsurely, Sakura flipped to the first page to find a detailed image of a human body with some sort of energy in the chest area. To the side, there were notes of how the energy could be manipulated in a certain way.

However, when the pinkette continued to go deeper into the book, she couldn't help but look at Tsunade as if she was crazy. " You think that my Quirk can be controlled until it resembles other Quirks at one point?"

" Don't you think so too? Come on, use that head of yours." Tsunade said, taking a sip of sake. " How were you able to hone your Quirk to one that resembled mine? As you get older, that energy grows with you. And currently, I think you have enough to start expanding into different Quirks if you knew how to manipulate that energy. You started off with a powerful Quirk such as mine, so I think you can now start developing small abilities such as walking on walls and water."

" Psh, I think it's a little late to start me on another Quirk." Sakura said, but Tsuande only let out a sigh at her words.

Finishing up her drink, Tsunade got up to go to bed. " It depends on you. But if you change your mind, that book is all yours, it's a recording of all the small Quirks I've encounter. Details on how the user activate it is all in there. Take a look if you're interested."

But the girl only let out a snort, thinking had had no use for anymore Quirk possibility beside her inhuman strength and healing ability. As the clock ticked by though, Sakura grew curious about what was in the book.

Finally, after no longer being able to ignore the nagging in her, the pinkette took a deep look into the book. The first page was on walking on solid matter as well as liquid. The only requirement was deciding how much energy was poured into the soles of the user's feet.

After rereading a couple of time just to be sure, Sakura made her way out of the building and over to one of the said building's wall. Concentrating hard, she focused a small amount of Quirk energy into the feet and planted a foot on the wall.

After that one step, another foot came after it. But being use to focussing on only healing and strength, the third step held little energy and Sakura went falling down. Getting up, the pinkette groaned in frustration with herself.

 **" Keep going."**

" Shut up." Sakura hissed under her breath, briefly acknowledging the voice. The situation that the voice came at told the pinkette that it meant no harm, just a simple encouragement. But nevertheless, Sakura still couldn't trust it fully yet.

Once more, Sakura went in for another try. This time she rushed in, managing halfway to the top until she slightly flared up her energy, resulting in her crushing a section of the wall and tumbling down.

Then there was a third try, a fourth, a fifth, and finally a sixth. On the sixth try, the pinkette managed to reached the top as well as casually walk down to the ground at a normal pace, as if she was born walking on walls.

Her accomplishment sparked a new inspiration within her. She had mastered walking on solid objects in only a hour, and her next goal was on water. But it wasn't just that, the girl couldn't but wonder at the possibility of developing even more Quirks. Not powerful ones such as creating ice, but simpler ones that could help her with her healing ability and strength.

" Walking on water, here I come." Sakura said, an air of excitement surrounding her as she made her way over to the pool in the back yard. Believing it was just the same as walking on walls, Sakura guided a specific amount of energy into her feet and walked in to only sink down with a splash.

The girl swam to the surface, coughing out water that had entered through her mouth. Shivering, she got out of the pool and resulted to the book, flipping to the second page where information of walking on water was stored.

According to the notes, walking on water was much more difficult due to the constant shift of movements in the liquid. The pinkette was to produce a constant stream of energy to her soles, making the streams slightly waver to match the water's shift and change.

The hard part was to use the repellent force to do the actual walking, or running. On a side note in the book, it said the user of the ability could also skate on the water's surface, something similar to ice skating. Feeling that she now understood what to do, Sakura walked over to the side of the pool once more.

But the second try was yet another fail, ending with the girl sinking once more. By her fifth try, the girl was soaking wet and had yet to make it across the pool. Shivering against the night's air, Sakura sat on the edge of the pool, dipping her feet into the water as she was deep in thoughts.

" If I start honing my Quirk into multiple branches now, by the time I debut, I'd already be recognized by then." The girl mused to herself, imagining what it may be like. " I now feel bad for belittling my Quirk in the pass. Tell me voice, is this what you meant by lacking knowledge of myself?"

But there was no answer, just the breeze passing by. After awhile, the girl went back into learning to walk on the water's surface. But it didn't take long because soon, the pinkette was skating on water as well as walking.

Sakura noted how her eyes didn't glow when she used her Quirk to walk on water and walls, and came to the conclusion that it was because those two activities just didn't take up as much energy as inhuman strength and healing.

After Sakura had enough of playing with her new found abilities, she wen back into the house, keeping silent as to not wake up Tsunade. Sakura grabbed her phone and looked for Bakugou's number, and when she found it, she decided to call him.

" Bubblegum, do you even know what time it is?" The boy asked when he picked up the call. " What do you want?"

" I just miss you." Sakura sung, but after realizing what she just said, she flushed madly, thankful that Bakugou wasn't near to see her blush. " I-I mean I miss your sharp comments and biting anger. So how was your first day of your internship?"

Bakugou let out a yawned, but made no move of closing the call. " I fought against a damn comb and lost. I think I choose the wrong agency to go to Bubblegum."

Sakura laughed at the strain in Bakugou's voice. " But Best Jeanist of ranked in the top five most popular hero, he's got to have something in store for you. So what did he say to you when you went?"

" Something about grooming me into a more calmer image of a hero." Bakugou snorted, and the pinkette could already see the disgusted look on the boy's face. " And you? You went to the old hag for some sort of last training, right? What did you learn?"

" That's a surprise you'll have to wait to see." Sakura teased, and when she checked the time, she let out a soft sigh. " We both better get some sleep. The first day is only the beginning, the second for sure would be harder so we'll need our rest. Bye Firecracker."

" Yeah, whatever. Bye Bubblegum." Bakugou bid, but neither of them made a move to hang up first. " Damn it Bubblegum, hang up already."

" I thought you were going to." Sakura replied with a smile. " Okay, this is for real, bye!"

With that said, the pinkette's finger hovered over the end button, and after awhile, she clicked it. Quickly, the girl washed up and climbed into bed, eyes tired from today's work. And the moment her head hit the pillow, she was out.


	24. Series I: Twenty Four

The next morning, Tsunade woke up her student extra early, insisting that they were going to need the whole day if Sakura wanted to get the hang of mastering what she was going to teach her. The pinkette perked up at those words, remembering that Tsunade promised to teach her a special move.

" So what is it?" Sakura asked when they had made it to the training ground once more.

Tsunade only smile, then suddenly, the woman bit her thumb, drawing blood. With one swift movement, she pressed her palm onto the ground. The air pressure around Tsunade started to pick up, carrying dirt of the ground until the Pro couldn't be seen behind the curtain of dust.

After a short period of time, the wind settled down to reveal Tsunade on top of a creature. " This is your next challenge. In my prime years, I had created a creature from my own Quirk, a creature that can dissolve and go to the aid of others. Through Katsuyu, you'll be able to monitor everyone's healing pace as well as keep in touch with others."

The pinkette stared in awe, knowing full well that the creature was one of the reason Tsunade became famous. " B-but this is _your_ super move. I can't accept it, teaching me was one thing, but to make me the next guardian of Katsuyu is-"

" Kid, I didn't ask for your opinion." Tsunade said sharply as she jumped down from the top of Katsuyu. " I'm getting too old to continue to play Pro Hero, but I don't want to retire with Katsuyu's ability going to waste."

" Y-you're retiring?!" Sakura asked in disbelief. " But you're still capable of fighting villains! You're still strong enough to hold up the title of the Fifth Hokage Hero."

" Do you expect me to be a Pro Hero for the rest of my life?" Tsunade laughed. " I'm now going to focus most of my time on being the principal of future heroes. That's why I want to take down the Hero Killer before I can comfortably step down. Whether you like it or not, I'm giving Katsuyu to you."

Sakura stared wide eyed, too baffled to make a noise. But once she found her voice once more, she stuttered out her thoughts. " How? Katsuyu is a whole new level of power."

" That's why I've told you to store your Quirk somewhere in your body. Whether it's in the chest, forehead, or hands." Tsunade reminded before she dismissed Katsuyu. " Today, we'll only be working on creating mini Katsuyu. You'll have to unlock the full power by yourself."

Getting over her shock, the pinkette found a thick layer of excitement in her, jumping in delight on her toes as she watched Tsunade held out her hand. " So how does it work? Do I have to draw blood out like you?"

" Only for the the bigger version of Katsuyu. Watch me." The woman said. Tsunade's palm was opened, and after concentrating for a split-second, her hand started to glow green. " I'm telling you in advance that to control healing others through Katsuyu's bigger form, you have to channel the energy into Katsuyu's main body which means you'll be out from the actual fight. The energy you channel into Katsuyu will then transfer it to others since they are all one big network of healers."

" But what about just a simple Katsuyu that's the size of a fist." Sakura asked, but her question was answered when Tsunade showed off a fun-sized Katsuyu to her. " How?"

" Easy. You allow your Quirk to flow to your hands, and from there you have to guide it to the outside world. But be warn, control it so that the glow doesn't go crazy, and instead just surround your hands." Tsunade explained. " Depending on how experience you are with it, the process will create a Katsuyu, all the energy you had release will then be contained in the creature, allowing you to fight while Katsuyu heals."

Sakura tried out the instructions, but the glow was too weak and it was blown out by the passing breeze. " It'll take some time. My healing ability isn't as well formed as the inhuman strength aspect."

" And thats were all the energy you've been storing for the pass three years comes into play." Tsunade declared. " Concentrate, feel the energy's power and try to control it so that it does what you want. That part is easy, but the next one is more difficult."

It took a few minutes, but after awhile, the pinkette announced that she had tamed it. " So what's next?"

" You've been storing it in the forehead, right?" Tsunade asked, and when she received a nod in answer, she went on explaining. " Release it, that's all I can tell you for now. Until you gain the same seal as mine on your forehead, even creating a small Katsuyu will be hard. Anyway, I'm going somewhere, you stay and work on what I've told you, okay?"

" I will, just grab breakfast for me as well." Sakura said as she walked away to find a calmer place to concentrate. Behind her, she didn't see the proud look on Tsunade's face, or the way the older woman whispered something that was covered up by a passing breeze.

" You're going to become the world's next hope and light, aren't you, Sakura Haruno?"

* * *

Sakura plopped down on the grass, crossing her legs. Once more, she outlined the energy in her to get familiar with it, but when the pinkette tried to flare it out as a burst of power, the energy exploded out of control.

" This is too frustrating!" Sakura shouted, throwing her legs and hands up as she fell backward onto the ground.

But after a moment of silence, Sakura sat up once more, closed her eyes and tried to release the energy that she had stored, but to no success. As she continued on to try, her eyebrows scrunched up more and more in frustration. Finally, having enough, Sakura decided to take a break.

Noticing a rock near her, the pinkette picked it up, and when her eyes glowed green, she crushed the rock under her hands. " Controlling Chakra to use for Inhuman strength was easy enough, and healing is difficult as it is, but why can't I release the energy to create Katsuyu!?"

She knew she was no Tsunade, but so far she was sure she was doing fine for her pace. Healing had always been a bit more harder to master then strength since it included the process of pouring Chakra into the wounds. And if it wasn't her own, it was even more difficult.

Coming to the conclusion that sitting around any longer wasn't going to make her any better, the pinkette went back to what she started doing. But even after the fifth try, the girl had yet to create the seal on her forehead.

" Having trouble?" Tsunade asked, suddenly appearing from behind the pinkette. " Lets get some breakfast in you then."

As Sakura was handed a takeout box, as well as a fork, she stayed silent, not having anything to say. Tsunade decided to follow in suit, allowing the girl some time to think on what she had been doing this whole morning to sink in.

Finally, after some time, Tsunade let out a sigh. " You don't have to take on Katsuyu. I know it's stressful as it is."

" No, no, I'm fine." Sakura rambled. " I _want_ to master Katsuyu. I'm just thinking of ways to release the energy. I'm having trouble even though I'm sure I'm doing exactly what you've instructed. But every time I try to flare it, it swirls out of my control."

" Then I suppose you should get a firmer grip on it, don't you?" The older woman asked, humming slightly. " After a few more hours, it'll be one in the afternoon. Lets go on a patrol on the streets of Hosu City. Tomorrow you'll continue to concentrate if you have yet to get the hang of it."

" Got it!" Sakura confirmed as she finished up the last of her eggs. " I'm going back to trying to release the energy, and and when we get back from patrol, I'm sure I'll be at it again."

Tsunade ruffled the pinkette's hair as she got up. " If you say so, just don't over work yourself. Take some breaks in between. Anyways, I'll be off at a hospital near by, and once it's time, I'll come back so we can go on our patrol. Okay with you?"

" Yep!" Sakura said, and with a determined look, she went back to concentrating, focusing on controlling her Quirk. Tsunade left shortly after, knowing that the pinkette would be too consume in her own little world that she wouldn't even notice that her mentor was gone.

" Come on, come on...Ugh! So close!" Sakura gritted with a clenched jaw after losing the grip once again.

Time went by without the pinkette even caring, all she had in mind was that she desperately wanted to be able to gain the seal so she could summon Katsuyu when needed. Before Sakura knew it, Tsunade had come to get her already.

Sakura looked up at the sun that was just passing by and let out a sigh of disappointment. " I was hoping to be able to get the seal today."

" Don't rush kid, just go at your own pace. When the time comes, whether it's in a life or death situation, or maybe just a simple session of trying, it'll come, just you wait and see." Tsunade said. " Now come on, we're going on patrol out in the city's street."

That day, as student and mentor strolled though the streets of Hosu, both in their hero costumes, thoughts of the Hero Killer possibly attacking again put both on edge. After turning a corner, Sakura bumped into a solid chest.

" I-Iida!" Sakura stuttered in surprised, but it soon turned into a wide smile. " I completely forgot you were in Hosu City as well! So how has it been going?"

" Good. Excuse me, I've got to go." Iida mumbled out, avoiding eye contact with the pinkette.

Sakura stared at the boy's retreating form, frowning slightly at Iida's behavior. It was almost as if he was anxious to be on the look out for something else even though from the look of it, the streets were peaceful, not even a bag snatcher in sight. " That's odd."

" That must be him, the one whose brother got attack by the Hero Killer. Poor kid." Tsunade mumbled. " It's obvious that he's still not over it, and I'm not surprise, from what I've heard, his brother's still getting treated right now. This is exactly why we're at Hosu City, to stop Stain from going on anymore killing spree."

Sakura nodded in agreement, however, even though they stayed out until ten, no sign of the Hero Killer showed up. But there was a car crash that would've taken place if Tsunade had not jumped in on time.

Reluctantly, the pair went back to their home after securing a shift with another Pro to take their place. Sakura, being too tired to continue on with her attempt to gain the seal, went to bed without hesitation, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

The following day, the pinkette had woken up before Tsunade, feeling that since she had gotten her rest, she needed to continue on with trying to release the energy she had stored in her forehead. But there was no luck even though Sakura was sure she would've gotten it by the next day.

But once Tsunade had woken up, the pinkette was forced to have her breakfast as well as take a break from all the training. Sulking, Sakura took small spoonfuls of oatmeal, her eyes downcast in disappointment.

" It's good to be dedicated, but too much of a good thing can turn bad." Tsunade said to which Sakura answered with a simple tilt of her head. " You'll understand. But in the meantime, finish up and get dress in your costume, we're heading to a hospital this morning."

" Huh? But why?" Sakura asked curiously, finding no reason for her or Tsunade to go to the hospital since neither of them were sick.

Tsunade grabbed her doctor coat from a hanger and then quickly slipped into it. " To help out of course. Since you have yet to master Katsuyu, we'll have to improve your healing skill for low pressured situation. The exercise will expand you stamina for using your Quirk to heal as well."

" Oh, okay, let me just finish." Sakura said, gulping down the last of her food. She got up from her seat and held up her hand, saying she needed a few minutes to get ready. It only took ten minutes before Sakura came out dressed in her costume and gesture for Tsunade to lead the way. " So what exactly will I be doing?"

" You've only helped managed the flow of blood as well as close up the surgery wound on the operating table. I'll give you some books to learn from, and given your talent, you be doing surgery on the field as well." Tsunade informed. " Today, you'll just be helping with injuries so you can last longer when healing."

Once the pair had gotten to the said hospital, Tsunade was greeted with admiration and honor, showing the pinkette just how looked up to the woman was. Tsunade led Sakura over to a room, and after awhile of talking to each other, a nurse came in.

" Some kid broke his leg while jumping down from his roof." The nurse inform. " We'd do the normal procedures for him, but I was told to get you instead."

" Thank you." Tsunade said, Sakura trailing after her as she entered a room. " Hello, today, Sakura Haruno will be tending to your child. I assure you, she's experience enough to now how to mend broken bones, and her Quirk knows the drill."

The presented mother nervously bit her lips. " I'm not sure I want a kid tending to my child. I'd prefer it if you were the one, Tsunade-san."

Tsunade gave the mother a comforting smile. " Let me introduce her again. This is Sakura Haruno, my apprentice, a current student of U.A. and a hero in training. I promise to you, I'll be there during the whole process even though Sakura had been fixing up broken bones for a few years already."

" Ah, if you say so." The mother said, reluctantly moving away so her child could be seen. " Come on Sora, let the nice girl check on you."

As the pinkette lightly touched the kid's leg, Tsunade had reached for the x-rays that had been taken and showed it to her student. " He's got a transverse fracture along his tibial. You know what to do, right?"

Sakura nodded, and after turning to the mother once more, receiving a nod, the girl hovered her hands over where the break was. She took a deep breath, slightly nervous about the small audience near her. The pinkette then guided a stream of energy into the palms of her hand, her eyes glowing a deep blue.

Gradually, as beads of sweat formed on Sakura's forehead, Sora's sobbing ad turned into sniffles before only his hiccups were left. Finally, the pinkette stepped back, the glow of her eyes dimming down as she did so.

" T-thank you." The kid said, touching his leg lightly and moving it around. " Look mommy, it doesn't hurt anymore!"

" Thank you, Sakura-san." The mother smiled, slightly giving the girl a small bow that caused the pinkette to flush as the gesture of respect.

After that one encounter, more and more injuries came in, which included other broken bones located in different placed as well as opened wounds that was suppose to get stitched up, however Sakura was able to close it up without the needed material. When lunch time came, Sakura and Tsunade went out for food and came back around one to only found that there were more appointments lined up.

Following five other successful appointment, Sakura plopped down on the floor, not caring that the ground was slightly dusty. She wiped away some sweats that had formed, and evened out her breathing. Healing really did take a toll on her.

" Here, you deserve it." Tsunade said, handing the girl a bottle of water. " And here are your results. You went through three appointments before you took a ten minute break, which resumed back after nine. I'm happy to say that throughout the day, your break time had been reduced to five minutes every three appointments."

" I've never used my healing ability more than two times in a row." Sakura commented, taking a gulp of water. " New record for me I suppose."

" Once you've earn your seal, you'll be more advance in that department, including having Katsuyu by your side once the day come." Tsunade reminded. " It's almost six, how about some patrol time? I'm sure they won't mind another team on look out."

Sakura got up from the ground and grin widely. " Sure, just don't be so dramatic. Yesterday you jumped in to stop a car crash with way too much flare."

" I can't help it kid, it's not easy being so popular amongst the citizens. Beside, I'll be announcing my retirement once we take down the Hero Killer, which I'm sure won't be long." The woman said as they walked outside, an arrogant smile on, leaving the car in the parking lot while they went out on patrol.

As they wandered around the city, many citizens stole glances at Tsunade, and occasionally at Sakura when the realized they had seen her during the Sports Festival. No actions were needed to take place until seven, when someone tried to snatch a lady's bag.

However, Tsunade was able to capture the minor villain within minutes, ending with her knocking him out with one punch to the jaw. As a policeman took the villain away, Tsunade politely rejected any autographs from any fans.

" Sorry, but I'm suppose to keep this professional." Tsunade apologies, a sheepish smile on her face. " But thank you for your support."

As Tsunade left to continue on with the patrol, a loud shriek cut through the calm air. Tsunade whipped her head toward where the shout came form, an alarmed look in her eyes. She then turned to Sakura with a stern look.

" It's smoke." Sakura confirmed, and she followed Tsunade as the Pro hurriedly went to where the shouting was most common.

From where she now stood, the pinkette stared in horror as a car erupted into flames. A section of the city were on fire, and slowly it was spreading out. The screaming and yelling continued on, and comments were shot out all over the place.

" W-what is that?!"

" It's a monster villain! Everyone, run!"

Sakura followed where someone's finger was point at, and what she saw sent her taking a step back in shock. There, standing in the mist of chaos were villains as well as different types of Nomus, all screeching and out of control. Suddenly, one stared directly at the pinkette.

And before Sakura knew it, it came charging right at her.


	25. Series I: Twenty Five

Sakura ignored the fear in her, and instead pulled back her fist. At the same time, the Eyeless Nomu pulled back his own. Together, the two stretched their fist out, colliding against each other with such strength that created blades of air that fanned some nearby flames.

Remembering that the Nomu could absorb the impact, Sakura switched position, grabbed the villain's outstretched arm and shoulder tossed him, eyes glowing an intense green of power. The impact of the attack created a crater that shook the ground.

" Sakura! Take care of that villain, keep it away from citizens and occupy it!" Tsunade ordered, her Pro Hero mode on. With swift movement, Tsunade bit her thumb and pressed her palm against the ground.

Instantly, the air pressure around the woman picked up until a whirl of tornado made it impossible to see Tsunade behind the air. Once it settled down, Tsunade was revealed to be standing on Katsuyu, eyes narrowed as she started to transfer her Quirk into Katsuyu.

From the corner of her eye, the pinkette saw Katsuyu dissolving into more and making its way around the city to find any injured. Meanwhile, Tsunade stayed on Katsuyu's main body, concentrating on the stream of her Quirk into Katsuyu so it could transfer it to the others to heal injured standbys.

Seeing an opportunity, Sakura did a low hand stand and swiped her legs at Eyeless Nomu's ankle, knocking it off it's balance. Quickly, the pinkette produced five metal blades and sent them hurling at the beast.

However, the creature held up an arm, causing the weapons to dig deep into his flesh. It swung his hand to the side, causing the blades to forcefully pop out, and roared in a vicious way that shook Sakura's every bones.

Once more, the beast charged at the pinkette on all four, either running though cars or tossing them away in the process. Doing some quick thinking, Sakura pulled out a stop sign by the rod and smacked the villain with it, using the sign as a swatter.

The action caused noises to ring in the monster's ears, stopping him in his track. Taking it to her advantage, the pinkette ran at the monster, and when a couple feet away, she did a cartwheel, finishing it by landing a heavy kick to the villain's head. The attack caused the Eyeless Nomu to crash down on the ground head first, it's feet buckling under the impact.

But it was only a matter of time before the Nomu got up, roared, grabbed Sakura by her feet and swung her to the side, sending her crashing into a building. As she collided against the wall, the pinkette winced, her body slightly trembling in pain.

As the beast ran at the girl once more, Sakura guided the flow of her Quirk to her leg, and as if by second nature, she ran up the wall right in time as Nomu appeared where she once stood. Doing a wall flip and ending up being behind the villain, the pinkette kicked the creature, sending him through the building.

" S-Sakura?!" A voice shouted, causing the pinkette to look around for who it belong to.

She soon figured out that it was Midoriya who had shouted out her name. Quickly, Sakura ran over to him, not as greeting, but to punch a villain that had appeared behind the boy. The attack sent the villain crashing back and into a building, knocking him out of conscious.

" Pay attention Deku!" Sakura scolded, displaying a serious side of her that was rarely seen. " This is a field full of villains, watch your back!"

The pinkette only now saw that other pro heroes had come to help, and she soon found that they had it under control. At least for a few minutes, because soon, more types of Nomus came into view, each with unique features.

" Watch out, Manual!" Sakura shouted out in warning when she saw a villain ready to attack him form behind.

The Pro Hero turned around right on time and set a stream of water crashing at the villain. He turned to Sakura and offered her a nod. " Thanks, Haruno!"

" Sakura, Iida's not here. He ran off according to Manual." Midoriya informed, causing the pinkette to stop and place the pieces together. When the boy saw the shock look on the pinkette's, he nodded to confirm her thoughts. " He's after the Hero Killer: Stain."

" He'll die!" Sakura shouted, clenching her fist, eyes wide and wild. Finally, despite her better judgement, she looked up with fierce eyes that Midoriya understood at once. " I'm going to go look for that idiot!"

Midoriya nodded and followed her lead. But then a voice shouted out to the pinkette that caused her to instantly stop and for Midoriya to crash into her back. The boy looked at her and stared curiously. " W-what's wrong?"

But Midoriya's question was answered when he heard Tsunade's voice as well. " Where do you think you're going Sakura Haruno?! Stay close, the possibility of the Hero Killer being here is a nine out of ten chance!"

" I'm sorry, but I can't do that!" Sakura shouted back, she then grabbed Midoriya's hand and started to run away. " I'm going to look for a dumbass!"

Still holding onto Midoriya's hand, Sakura took off from the ground and into the air. While air-borne, the pinkette released the hold as gravity started to pull them down. With no effort, both Sakura and Midoriya landed on their feet and started to jump from rooftop to rooftop, looking for Iida.

Midoriya couldn't help but noticed how the pinkette would instantly take off from a roof when she saw Iida no where in sight, and how her movement were sharper and more precise then it was when he last saw her. But he wasn't the only one who could see the other improving.

" You've got control over your Quirk now." Sakura commented when they passed by in the air. " Wait, look! I see some people in the alleyway!"

Together, the two jumped into the air, aiming to land in the alleyway. Sakura instantly recognized Stain, and even though it was only her toes that had managed to touch the ground, she used her Quirk to send a kick at the villain. The sudden attack caught Stain by surprised, and he was sent flying back.

Taking the time to examine her surrounding, the pinkette saw Iida sprawl on the ground bleeding, a Hero severely injured, and there was no Katsuyu in sight, showing that the healing creature had either swept passed them without knowing or had yet to pass around the area yet.

" We came to save you, Iida." Midoriya told the boy, keeping a close eye on the villain while doing so. " What were you thinking? Can you move right now?"

" N-no, I can't. Ever since he cut me, I haven't been able to take any action." Iida replied, his voice uneven from his injuries.

Midoriya nodded, his understanding of Stain taking action. " It's just as the reporters on TV had guess. So it's cutting that actives his Quirk. Don't worry Iida, Sakura and I will get both you and Native out, alive."

However, Stain chuckled eerily at Midoriya's claim. " Three kids? Three kids wants to fight me? No, lets make that two now. Just my luck too, you're the girl in Shigaraki's picture, and over there, we have the boy. Fine, if it's a fight you came for, it's a fight you'll get."

" Deku!" Sakura informed, and automatically, both she and Midoriya got ready to defend and attack.

The pinkette produced three blades from her pouch, and when Stain knocked the last one to the side, Midoriya appeared out of nowhere in front of him and landed a punch to his jaw. As the villain stumbled back, Sakura took the opportunity to take off from where she stood to deliver her own punch.

However, Stain was ready for the attack and swiped his sword at her, causing the pinkette to jumped back to avoid getting cut since it seemed that once she does, it was over. As Midoriya got ready to attack once more as well, Iida's voice stopped him.

" Don't!" Iida gritted. " Don't get involve, Haruno, Midoriya. This had nothing to do with either of you!"

By this time, Sakura had retreated back to Midoriya's side, and when she heard Iida's words, her eyes narrowed. " I did not come to save you knowing I might encounter the Hero Killer just to hear you tell me to not do what I came for."

" Will you listen to that? You're friends came to save you, even thought she already knows her fate. I was given order to cut off her and the boy, and when we clash, the weaker will be culled, obviously right?" The villain brought up, sending a shiver through Sakura's spine. " Do you still want to save him now that you know I won't hesitate to kill you?"

Sakura felt her mind freeze and her body ice cold in fear as she glanced into the eyes of a killer. Stain was nothing like the villains that Shigaraki had rounded up in the USJ, he had the eyes of experience. The eyes of a villain who had his hands covered in blood before.

From the corner of her eyes, the pinkette noticed Midoriya sending his location, and she silently thanked him for his quick thinking. This was a fight they could not win without more help from others.

" Run away! I told you didn't I? This had nothing to do with you guys!" Iida shouted, but before he could continue on with his demands, Sakura broke him off by stomping her foot, creature a fissure that ran deep and narrow.

" If you say that, then why do heroes meddle in matters that doesn't involve them?! Lady Tsunade wants the Hero Killer dead to help those who are suffering from his killing spree. it doesn't involve her in anyway, so why does she want to help?" Sakura bit back sharply. " Because that's her job! It's a trait most valued in Heroes!"

" And because we're your friends, it's our job to help each other out!" Midoriya added on as he held up his fist in a stance.

The villain ran at the duo standing, pulling out his weapon in the process. Midoriya was the first to reach Stain, and just as the villain swiped his sword at the teen boy, Midoriya ducked and tunneled Stain between the legs, appearing from behind in the end.

As Stain saw Midoriya aiming to attack him from above, he forgot about the pinkette he had turned his back to, a fatal mistake. The villain received a punch from Midoriya, and a deep stab wound from Sakura that caused him to stagger back.

But instead of attacking recklessly from getting injured, Stain grinned widely, making him look insane as he licked off blood from his sword. Midoriya's blood. The said boy's muscles trembled, and before he knew it, he was unable to move, just like Iida.

" Three down, including the so call hero, one more to go." Stain snarled, a wild look in his eyes. " Hey girl! Will you be all talk just that you're two friends? People who talk like that are a dime a dozen, but they are worth letting live. You and the boy you arrived with will live, but for this one, I don't think so."

Stain positioned his weapon right above Iida's head, and Sakura knew that he was aiming to kill off the taller boy. Without thinking of the results, Sakura charged at the villain, suddenly appearing behind him with her fist pulled back.

However, the villain moved with experience and pinned the girl against the wall, his arm on her neck, keeping her still. Slowly, Stain grazed her cheek with one of his dagger, brought it up near his mouth and licked her blood off clean.

" Nice try, _hero_." Stain hissed as his arm retreated back to his side. However, Sakura stayed where she was, paralyzed by the villain's Quirk.

Sakura tried to move her fingers, and she growl in annoyance when they wouldn't move. She looked up and her eyes trail on Stain as he held up his sword over Iida's head once more. " Don't!"

However, Stain made no move of hearing her, and instead continue to raise his weapon higher. But before he could bring it down on Iida's head, a burst of flames caused him to jump away to avoid getting hit.

" One after another." Stain growled in irritation. " There are a lot of people getting in my way today. So who is it now?"

Sakura couldn't turn her head, but for some reason she knew exactly who had come to their rescue. Standing with his left side burning, Todoroki's eyes glanced over to Sakura's way, before it went to Midoriya and then Native as well as Iida.

" You should've told me what was going on." Todoroki said, as his left side cooled down. " Sending just your location doesn't help much. I had trouble finding out exactly where you were so I was late."

" Todoroki! Be careful not to get any of your blood near him!" Sakura warned. " It's not from cutting where his Quirk is activated, that's only half of it! He needs to consume your blood as well! From that, I think he control other's actions."

Stain chuckled lowly. " Figured it out, have you? But there's one more part little girl. Lets see if you'll figure it out soon."

Todoroki was the first to take action. The first thing the boy did was create a sheep of ice under Sakura, Iida, Midoriya, and Native, and controlling his Quirk, he titled it to one side so that all four of them went sliding down and land behind him so they were no longer in harms way.

" I'll keep my distance th-" Todoroki's sentence was cut short when a knife went flying at him, nicking his skin and shedding blood.

Before anyone knew it, Stain had jumped at Todoroki with a dagger in ready position. " You have good friends, Ingenium, coming to help out."

Stain landed and tried to swipe his weapon at Todoroki only to hit against a slab of ice that the boy had created. However, the villain moved passed the ice and leaned in toward Todoroki, his tongue trying to lick the boy's drops of blood. But Stain didn't managed to when Todoroki's left side once more burst into flames.

Once Stain had retreated back from the fire, Todoroki dismissed his left side Quirk and went back to his right. He created rigid walls of ice that the villain sliced through roughly with his sword.

" W-why you three? I've inherited my brother's hero name, I have to be the one who do it." Iida said. " Hero Killer is mine...!"

However, Sakura wasn't listening and was instead focused on the voice inside her mind that had suddenly appeared once more. **" Soon, the time will be up."**

" What do you mean!? Answer me damnit!" Sakura shouted, surprising Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki by her sudden out burst. From the look in her eyes, the boys decided to ask later since it didn't seem like she was talking to them, beside, the time wasn't convenient.

As Todoroki continued to face off against Stain with both fire and ice, he addressed Iida's words. " That's strange. the Ingenium I saw before didn't have that look in his eyes. You've got a lot going on behind the scenes with your family, too, huh?"

Meanwhile, for Sakura, she felt her fingers moving once more. Her eyes went off to the side, and she noticed that Midoriya was starting to get up. And quickly, the green haired boy went off to help out Todoroki. Sure that it was only a matter of time before Stain's Quirk wore our for her, Sakura prepared to attack.

A few minutes went by, and soon, Sakura was able to got out of her pose. She felt her wrist, and once she was sure she was good, the pinkette guided her Quirk to her legs and started to climb up the wall. Her pace quickened and she started to run at where Midoriya and Stain were.

Suddenly, Midoriya was knocked off the wall by Stain. Not wanting the villain to get a good stance again, Sakura's eyes started to glow green and some of her Quirk energy gave her inhuman strength while she was still running on the wall.

" A new Quirk?" Stain asked, mildly impress. " Well-"

He was cut off when Sakura reached him, grabbed him by the mouth and shoved his face against the metal wall. With her Quick in use, the pinkette was able to shove the villain's face in until it reached the other side of the wall. Blood dripped down from Stain's forehead, and he soon pulled out of the hole his head had created.

He quickly reached for another dagger and stabbed the pinkette in the arm, deep. Knowing that she couldn't allow her blood to get into Stain's hand again, Sakura disconnected herself from the wall so she could quickly get out of the villain's grasp, and when she did, the gravel scraped her skin when she collided against it.

" Sakura, what blood type are you!?" Midoriya asked the girl, wincing. " I have a theory!"

Sakura got up and leaned against the wall, a hand clenching the other since blood was dripping heavily from it. " I'm blood type O! Why? Why does it matter?"

" The time limit of him being able to freeze those who he had consume their blood is base on their blood type!" Midoriya informed, and Sakura nodded in understanding. No wonder she and Midoriya were the first to break free, they were both blood type O.

Sakura winced when she removed her hand from the wound, but she didn't heal it. If anything, she now needed to play smart. Since she had yet to unlock the seal, she couldn't just recklessly use her Quirk to heal, she need to preserve her energy for the fight against Stain.

" Sakura, heal yourself, don't worry about it!" Midoriya shouted, as if reading her mind. " With me and Todoroki by your side, it'll be fine!"

Nodding, Sakura guided her Quirk to her hands, and hovered it over her wound. Her eyes glowed blue, and after awhile, her stab wound closed up until no sign of any injuries could be seen. She heaved a sigh of relief when the stinging went away, but she soon got back into a stance.

" Three against one?" Stain questioned, unsmiling. " That won't be easy."

Sakura and Midoriya took front while Todoroki supported them from the back. With the narrow alley they were in, it made it easy for Sakura to switch between walls to avoid any of Stain's attack. And the fact that Midoriya was there with her made it easier to attack when the villain was occupied with the other.

With Midoriya attacking from the right, Sakura took left. Stain however, picked up on their tactics and instead pulled out to blades and sent one flying to each side. Sakura easily dodged it with a simple duck as she continued on to advance on the villain.

Force to move, Stain jumped into the air to which Todoroki sent a jet of flames at him, causing the villain to try to move while in the air. Finally, Midoriya got a hit it when Stain was focused on the pinkette.

The Hero Killer staggered back a little but quickly regain footing once more. He specifically went for Midoriya, and taken by surprised with the sudden burst of speed the villain displayed, Midoriya wasn't able to move out of the way as the villain grabbed his leg and swung him against a wall.

Stain was now playing at a different way. His actions had grown wild and unpredictable. He held out his sword, pierced Midoriya's leg and licked his blood off the blade, leaving the boy unable to move again. And before Sakura knew it, Stain came after her next, two blades positioned in each hand.

" Stop it you guys!" Iida shouted. " This is my fight!"

Todoroki sent a stream of fire at Stain, keeping him away from the pinkette as he replied to Iida's words. " Then stand up! Finish what you started! That kind of hero do you want to be?! Ingenium is the name of the hero that defeats the Hero Killer, isn't it?"

Sakura couldn't say anything else to encourage Iida since she was busy trying to avoid the villain's threatening blades. But she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes, and what she saw caused her to heave a sigh of relief.

A Katsuyu had found them.


	26. Series I: Twenty Six

The Katsuyu made its way over to Native and started to heal the fallen Pro. But when it noticed Todoroki's, Iida's, as well as Midoriya's wounds, it dissolved into smaller ones and divided itself amongst the four. Midoriya easily recognized the creature and stared up at Sakura in shock.

" If Katsuyu is here, it'll be able to transfer the information of where we are to Lady Tsunade, right?" The boy asked Sakura.

The pinkette nodded in answer, eyes still on the villain before her. She dared not to let her guard down, especially because the said villain was the Hero Killer. " Yeah, it'll only take a few seconds. The only problem is that Lady Tsunade won't be able to come right away since she's on defense."

Suddenly, Stain came running at Sakura, his sword in position to strike at any given time. Fast thinking, the pinkette charged at the villain, and just when Stain was about to swipe his weapon, Sakura grabbed the hand he was using and crushed his hand until she could feet pieces of his bones stab his own flesh.

The villain didn't scream out in pain, just simply send a piercing glare at Sakura's way. With one had out of commission, Stain retreated back to a safe distance. " You brats are starting to get on my nerves. "

But he wasn't allowed to continue on to complain when Todoroki sent a trail of jagged ice his way, forcing the villain to jump up onto the wall to avoid the attack. And as if he found a new burst of speed, Stain flipped his sword into his left hand and rushed at Todoroki.

Sakura's eyes widened, and before she knew it, her body moved on her own. She had caught on too slow and wasn't able to block the sword that was aiming to cut off Todoroki's arm directly, but she was able to reach out her hand and grabbed the sword's blade just before it went though Todoroki's arm.

Blood dripped from her palm, and the pinkette winced in pain. Her action was too rash, and when Stain stared back at her, she felt true killing intent in his eyes. Her injuries made it hard for her to react in time, much less form a fist to counter the up coming attack.

As Stain swirl his blade in his left hand for better fitting and leveled it right above the pinkette's abdomen, everything happened in slow motion before Sakura's eyes. But something that didn't seem effected was Iida who had suddenly appeared and sent a sharp kick at the weapon that broke it in half.

" I-Iida!" Sakura managed to shout out in surprise.

Within seconds, Iida had not only broke the sword, which seemed to be Stain's main weapon, but also send the villain crashing into a wall from the power compacted in his legs. With the Hero Killer away from them, Iida panted for breath.

" You got free?" Todoroki questioned Iida as he went over to the pinkette and held a protective hand in front of her. " His Quirk isn't that great then. The time limit makes it a huge deal breaker then."

Iida stood up to his full height and sent the pinkette and the others and apologetic smile. " Haruno, Todoroki, Midoriya, I apologies. This had nothing to do with you, and I'm sorry for dragging you three into his mess. That's why I can't allow you guys shed anymore blood!"

" What's the use?!" The Hero Killer suddenly asked, his pupil small and threatening. " You're nothing but a fake who prioritizes his own selfish desires. You are a cancer to society that warps the idea of a _hero_. Someone had to set you straight, and that someone is going to be me!"

" Don't listen to the words of that murderer!" Todoroki said, shouting at Iida.

However, the taller boy shook his head in answer as if what the villain was saying was correct. " No, he's right. I came looking for him for revenge. I don't deserve the title of a hero, or to call myself one. But even so, I can not give in! If I do, the name Ingenium will die!"

The Villain, angered by Iida's words got into a stance, but before he could charge, Todoroki pulled Sakura behind him and sent a large burst of flames at Stain. As the flames continued to fire, Native looked up and shouted at them since Katsuyu had recover him.

" Idiots! He's after me and the kid in white armor, don't fight back! Just run!" Native encouraged.

" No, don't be stupid." Todoroki scoffed at the Pro Hero. " We'd never leave our friend. And even if we wanted to, the Hero Killer isn't giving us an opening to do so. He's gotten desperate to kill, and he's now only on his crazy tenacity."

" Todoroki, cover me!" Sakura shouted, pushing pass the boy before he could take any action to stop her.

Sakura guided the flow of her Quirk to her hands, eyes narrowed in determination. And soon, her clenched fist collided against the wall Stain was on, causing the building to sway and crack. The villain jumped down from the wall and started to rush at the pinkette.

However, the girl only got in a stance, one of her blades in front of her. As Stain drew nearer, a jet of flames swept passed the pinkette and instead went for the villain. But the flames were a great curtain, and just in time, Stain jumped up and landed only a few feet from Sakura.

Wasting no time, Stain charged once more, and when he reached the pinkette, he grabbed the girl's blade and used it against her. However, before it landed on the pinkette's arm, Iida jumped into, taking the attack for her.

From the impact put into the stab, Iida fell down wincing in pain. He turned over to Todoroki while Sakura stood over him as protection. " Freeze my legs! Just don't plug up the exhausts! Just do it, hurry!"

Meanwhile, Sakura noted how the Katsuyus were now retreating to where it came from. It was only a matter of time before Tsunade arrived, Katsuyu regrouping was a sure sign of that. Suddenly, Sakura felt a piercing feeling coming from her abdomen. She looked down to see one of Stain's dagger securely in her flesh.

" S-Sakura!" Midoriya cried out, leaning up against a wall for support as he started getting control over his body again.

" Shut up!" Sakura returned as she forcefully pulled the weapon out from her and placed a hand over her new wound. This wasn't good, they needed to end it soon or else. Suddenly, the pinkette felt a sharp blade of air passed her, and when she looked up, she saw Iida taking off as well as Midoriya.

" Recipro Extend!"

" One For All Full Cowling!"

And together, with Iida taking one side and Midoriya taking the other, the two delivered their own attacks. Iida got the villain around the waist and Midoriya took Stain's jaw. As the attacks landed, the Hero Killer lost his footing and plunged to the ground.

But before he reached the floor, Todoroki's left side burst into flames and he sent a stream of fire at the villain's falling from. Noticing that Stain was still slightly conscious, Sakura jumped up and caught the Villain in a tight hold.

She landed with a foot on the villain as well as pulling his hands to his back in a lock. The impact of the landing caused a crater to break out, and the ground to shake. The pinkette breathed heavily from her injuries as she let go of the villain.

" Is there anything to tie him up with?" Midoriya asked as he walked over to the girl's side.

Sakura winced, and her hand went flying over to her abdomen. She made a mental note to add rolls of gauze in her pouch in case of situation such as this. Todoroki, seeing her slightly limping made his way over to her and offered to carry her.

" N-no!" Sakura shouted, her face burning when Todoroki crouched down so she could get on his back. " I-I mean I'm okay so there's no need to! Beside, I might get blood on you!"

" So? I'm already bloody as it is." Todoroki turned his head to look back at the girl, a curious look on his face. " Just get on."

Reluctantly, the pinkette climbed on, and after awhile, she eased into the hold as her hands held on to the boy's shoulders. Burying her face into his back, Sakura felt the boy get up and starting to follow the others. " Thanks."

With Native being able to move again, he carried Midoriya since his legs were injured as well. Iida had Stain tied tightly with ropes that he had found and he dragged the villain around with the extra piece of rope he had connected to the bundle. Altogether, they made their way out.

" Ah, even though I'm a Pro, I was just in your way." Native sighed.

Sakura yawned as she look up. " No, it wasn't you fault. You had encounter the Hero Killer alone. He's just too strong."

" Right. Fighting three-on-one with him was difficult even though he was making mistakes on his part. We barely took him out even though we were in an advantage." Todoroki added on. " He forgot about Midoriya's recovery time so he allowed himself to become flustered."

" Lets get him to the police quickly before he wakes up again." Midoriya suggested just as Gran Torino and Lady Tsunade showed up.

Sakura nervously laugh and she tried to hide. But it was no use, Tsunade had already seen her and was currently making her way over to the young girl. The woman reached for the pinkette's cheeks and started to pull them. " Are you stupid?! What did-"

However, Tsunade was cut short when Todoroki side stepped away so she couldn't reach the pinkette on his back. " Don't."

" Eh?! Who's the kid?" Tsunade asked, her eyes twitching at the unnerve look in Todoroki's eyes. " Oh, now I remember. He's Endeavor's kid. The second place taker in the Sports Festival. Disrespectful brat."

And for Midoriya's case, he wasn't doing so well either with the person her was interning for. Gran Torino was scolding the green hair boy with his hands on his hips. " I told you stay seated on the bullet train's seat, didn't I?! I don't know what exactly is going on, but I'm glad you're okay."

Suddenly, more Pro Heroes started to show up, all surrounding the children that were presented. They stared baffled at the captured Hero Killer as well as the injuries conflicted on the teens' body. Tsunade sighed as she went over to Iida.

" Show me your arm kid, I'll heal you." Tsunade said uncaringly, but the way her hands trembled reminded the pinkette of Tsunade's fear of blood. " Damn, kids these days are so annoying! In the meantime, someone hurry up and call the police!"

As a Pro made the call, Iida suddenly made his way over to Sakura, Todoroki, and Midoriya. He bowed, hid head low in apology. " I'm sorry you three! Because of me, you all got injured! I am truly sorry! I..I just.. couldn't see anything though my anger."

" I'm sorry too." Midoriya said softly. " As a friend, I didn't even notice how cornered you felt."

At Midoriya's words, Iida's tears slipped down, and upon seeing them, Sakura got off Todoroki and stood over his bowed form. No one saw what was coming, and when Sakura's fist smacked against Iida's head, everyone stared in shock. All except Tsunade who was looking by the corner of her eyes.

" Who told you to cry?" Sakura asked, and just when Iida was about to fall from the hit, she embraced him. " You stupid idiot! I said I was your friend even though I didn't realize how you felt. I looked passed your anger and only saw what you wanted others to see. I'm sorry."

" Pull yourself together, you're the class rep, aren't you?" Todoroki asked to which Iida looked up and nodded in answer.

Sakura let go of the taller boy, and stared at him as he wiped his tears away. She bit her lips as she felt a pang in her chest. Emotions are one of a Hero's worst enemies. Especially when it threatens their decisions and blinds them.

Suddenly, Gran Torino shouted out to everyone. " Everyone, get down! Now!"

" A villain?!" A hero shouted out.

But it was too late for any more warnings. In an instant, the Winged Nomu swept down, grabbing Midoriya as well as Sakura in the process as it went back up to the sky. Todoroki's hands quickly shot up and held on to the pinkette's leg.

But it was no use, from the blades of air created from the villain's flapping wings, Todoroki had no choice but to let go it he didn't want to get dragged along as well. Sakura's eyes widened and she started to try to pry the claws around her waist open. But Nomu's strength kept her caged.

" Sakura!" Tsunade shouted, and the woman ran after them.

But before she could jump to reach her student, Nomu suddenly came crashing down, bring the two teens with him in the process. Sakura quickly caught on when she saw Stain running after them. When the villain ran passed Tsunade, he grazed her arm and licked the blood off his dagger.

Soon, Stain reached the Winged Nomu, and with flashing red eyes, he stabbed the creature in it's exposed brain, killing it. Stain kept both his hands on Sakura and Midoriya;s head, stopping them from moving freely. But the villain then shuddered into robotic movements, as if he was close to his limits. And judging from his injuries, Sakura wasn't surprise if he was.

" He killed that villain with no hesitation." A Pro Hero commented even though is was plainly clear that Stain was just that kind of person.

" Everyone, get ready!" Another Pro commanded, getting into a stance of her own.

" Why are you guys all standing in groups!?" A voice boomed, and it didn't take long for Sakura to identify it as Endeavor, the number two hero. " At the rate, the villain should've escape by now. I'll take care of it instead then!"

Knowing Tsunade, the pinkette knew that her mentor had scoff at the arrogance of Endeavor. It was clear that Tsunade didn't approve of Endeavor's method of fighting, his arrogant ways, and the air that told others that he thought himself better. But at the moment, Tsunade also knew that Endeavor could also take down Stain.

" Let..go..!" Sakura shouted out, her voice muffled since the villain was pressing her face against the ground.

" Don't tell me that man is...?" Endeavor trailed off when the said man turned his head over to him. Stain's eyes told everything, he _hated_ the number two hero.

Stain's mask fell down near Sakura as he uttered a single name. " Endeavor."

Endeavor ignite at the sight of the Hero Killer, and before long, his whole body burst into flames. The Hero pulled his hand back and got into a stance, readying for an attack, however, when Gran Torino called for him to stop, the man did as he was told even though he was still glaring.

Stain finally let go of Sakura and Midoriya's head, and getting up, he started to make his way over to Endeavor with heavy steps. Sakura checked on Midoriya, and once she was sure he was okay, she got up on her feet though the support of the wall.

Leaning against a building, Sakura looked up, her face scratched form falling on the ground as well as from the villain's former hold. She let out a hacking cough before her hand reached for her stomach.

From where she was now standing, Sakura could see the look of lost sanity in Stain's eyes, and because of that, she felt a shiver go through her spine. The eyes of a murder was only a few feet away from villain stagger slowly over to Endeavor, but the pro hero made no more of closing the gap any more.

" You..fake..! I must make thing rights. Someone must be dyed in blood. I must take back what it means to be a Hero!" The villain rasped. " Come! Come and get me, you fakes!"

With each step Stain took, the Hero's he was heading to took a step back. it was clear that the look on Stain was disturbing enough for adults to fear him. Tsunade had her eyes narrowed. Gran Torino stared baffled. And Endeavor was frozen.

" I'll only let one Hero killer me. There's only one Hero worthy of his title!" Stain shouted. "...All Might!"

Sakura felt the killing intent coming off from Stain surround her, consuming her into it's grasp. And her eyes widened in alarm. The aura coming from Stain was pure hatred, and it was strong enough to paralyze even the most reckless.

Suddenly, the blade in the Hero Killer's hand dropped the the ground. Sakura took in the image of Stain's unmoving form, and how only the whites in his eyes could be see. The Hero Killer had stopped dead short. The villain was still standing, but one thing was for sure, he was now unconscious.

Upon seeing that, Sakura fell to her knees, her whole body trembling in horror.


	27. Series I: Twenty Seven

Once things had settled down, the four teens were rushed to Hosu General Hospital to get themselves check out. They ended up staying the night and waking up the next day wearing hospital gowns that told others they were patients. However, thanks to Tsunade, none of them had any severe injuries left.

" Were you guys able to sleep?" Iida asked, sitting on his hospital bed.

" No, not really." Midoriya answered for them. He stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. " Thinking back on it now, we did something really amazing, didn't we?"

Sakura, who was leaning against the head frame of her bed with her knees to her chest smiled softly. She glanced at Todoroki, and when the boy notice her stare, she titled her head and smile. She couldn't help it, the main reason Iida got up again was beside of his words.

" Yeah, but it makes you think." Sakura hummed, her chin balanced on her knees. " At some point, we all had our guard down and where severely injured. He could've killed us at any given time, I mean, he was the villain who had killed many Pro Heroes."

Iida nodded in agreement at the pinkette's words. " We were kept alive for a purpose."

" You were brave to face up against him with all the killing intent directed at you." Todoroki commented, referring to Iida.

Before Iida could answer though, Gran Torino, Tsunade, and Manual had walked in. While Gran Torino advanced on Midoriya, Tsunade wondered off to her apprentice and ruffled the pinkette's hair softly.

" Good job, I just receive an examination paper with all the Hero Killer's injuries listed." Tsunade said before she broke into a grin. " His right hand was broken, his bones shattered beyond recovery, I assume it was because of you. Good job kid, I'm proud!"

" Yeah?!" Sakura cheered, getting out of her crouch position to stand on her knees in excitement, even bouncing slightly.

Tsunade's words and the pinkette's reaction caused the surrounding people to look at them oddly. But then Gran Torino let out a cough, his eyes some what full of amusement at the relationship between Tsunade and Sakura as he addressed the situation that had happened between Stain and the three teens.

" Ah, yes. You guys have a visitor." Gran Torino announced, and as if on cue, a dog headed man in a suit walked in. " This is Kenji Tsuragamae, Hosu's chief of police."

Sakura recognized the man and stood up as a sign of respect. However, Tsuragamae told them to be seated as he went on to more important matters, ending his sentence with a woof that surprised the pinkette.

" You must be the UA students that brought down the Hero Killer, correct?" Tsuragamae confirmed. " Regarding the Hero Killer we've arrested, he had suffered serious wounds with burns as well as broken bones and is currently receiving treatment under tight security -woof-."

Passed Tsuragamae, Sakura saw her mentor trying to reframe from smiling, but when she saw Sakura looking at her, the older woman winked in assurance. It was no secret that Tsunade was proud, but given the situation with the chief, she had no choice but to hold back her smiles.

" Since you are all students of UA, I'm positive you know that back when superpowers were just becoming normal for us, the police made sure that Quirks weren't use as weapons -woof-." The chief went on. " And then, the profession of hero came in to fill the gap."

Sakura bit her lips from bursting out in defense. It was obvious where this was going. The four teens had used their power to the point it could've kill, and even if it was against a villain, they were not given to do do from their guardians so it was a violation of the rules.

"...The four of you, as well as the Pro Heroes Lady Tsunade, Endeavor, Manual, and Gran Torino will receive strict punishments." Tsuragamae continued on.

" Wait a minute!" Todoroki glared, taking a step toward the adults. " If Iida hadn't stepped in, Native would've died. And if Haruno and Midoriya hadn't stepped in, the first two would've died also. No one knew that the Hero Killer was there, are you saying we should've just watch people get killed?"

" W-wait, Todoroki." Sakura said, grabbing the boy by the hand so he wouldn't attack anyone.

" Are you saying that as long as everything turns out okay, it's okay to bend the rules?" Tsuragamae challenge, and when the sentence left his mouth, Sakura snapped her head his way with her eyes narrowed.

Now it was Midoriya's turn to hold back the pinkette as she threatened to attack the chief. Her hands were at her side clenched into tight fists." Hey! It's our job as heroes to protect, what's wrong with stepping in?!"

" And that's why you are not a full-fledge hero yet." Tsuragamae said plainly. " Goodness, what are you being taught at UA? And I assume you get your anger form Lady Tsunade? And yours from your father, correct, Todoroki?"

Todoroki's eyes widened, taking the man's words as insults to UA, to Sakura as well as himself. " You dog-!"

" Hang on you two!" Gran Torino said, holding out a hand to stop the two teens from doing anything rash. " Listen to him until the end, would you? That was the official opinion of the police."

" And the punishment and such would only happen if it were all made out in public -woof-." Tsuragamae said. " If this was made out to the public, you would all be applaud by society and the punishment would take place. However, if it was not announced to the public the burn scars conflicted on Stain could easily be said the doings of Endeavor. And the broken bones as Lady Tsunade's and it would end there. The accomplishment won't be recognized as your doings, but you won't have to suffer for it either."

" Ah!" Sakura said, catching on to that the man was offering before realizing the misunderstanding. She frantically bowed and offered an apology." I'm so sorry!"

" No, no, it's okay." Tsuragamae assured with a smile before giving her a thumbs up. " Personally, I don't want to be the one who find faults in promising young ones -woof- such as you guys."

However, Manual hung his head as he brought out the bad side. " Either way, we as Pro Heroes will have to take responsibility for allowing you guys out of our sight when you were under our charge."

Iida walked up to the person he was interning for and bowed, apologizing for all the mess and trouble he had brought on him. But Manual simply bonked the tall boy's head and made Iida promise not to do anything like that again to which Iida swore not to. Soon after, Midoriya bowed his head as well followed by a reluctant one by Todoroki.

" Because of the unfairness of adults, you won't receive the praises that you've earn, but at least, as someone who also protects peace, I can say Thank you." Tsuragamae said, retuning a bow of his own to express his gratitude.

Todoroki looked away at those words. " Please start with that next time."

Sakura glanced of at Todoroki and titled her head before she smile. This side of the boy was really cute. She flush lightly at her own thoughts, and trying to hide it, the pinkette pretended to brush a strand of hair from her face. However when she looked up, Sakura saw Tsunade's smirk.

After awhile of more small talk, Tsuragamae left with a wave of his hand. When Sakura asked Tsunade when she would be discharge and get back to training, the woman simply let out an arrogant sigh before shaking her head.

" You can leave when ever you want, none of you have any serious injuries." Tsunade replied. " But I don't think you would mind staying for a bit, am I right?"

Seeing the way her mentor was obviously giving pointed looks at Todoroki, the pinkette pushed the woman out the door with a flustered look. " S-shut up! What are you saying?! I-I mean...agh!"

Tsunade laughed as she, Manual, as well as Gran Torino left together, leaving the pinkette alone with the boys who in turn gave her curious looks. She waved them off with a nervous chuckle, avoiding eye contact with Todoroki by looking anywhere else but him.

" Ah, by the way Sakura," Midoriya suddenly said. " During the fight you were shouting at someone. But from the way you weren't looking at anyone of us, I figure it was invisible or something. Who was it? Or perhaps _what_ was it?"

Sakura dug in her memory to figure out what Midoriya went, and once she did, she shook her head. " I don't know what exactly it is either. It started ever since the attack on the USJ, I've been hearing this voice, not my own but someone else's. Lady Tsunade thinks its just a being created from my Quirk."

" A voice inside your head?" Iida questioned more to himself then her. " Goes it threaten you in anyway?"

Sakura shrugged. " No, but do you guys remember the sports festival? When I was up against Tokoyami, I suddenly got a burst of power that I didn't asked for. During that time, the voice had appeared also."

" Do you want to go see a doctor about it?" Todoroki asked, turning to the pinkette.

Sakura laughed before giving the boy a look of disbelief. " Lady Tsunade's one of the most world known hero, I think I'm fine as long as she say so. Don't worry, I believe it'll disappear once I can release Chakra, since I'm sure it's only a being created from the stored energy over the past few years also."

" Hold on you guys, i'm getting a call. I'm going to take this." Midoriya said, walking out of the room after pressing a button on his phone. But before he left, he flashed the name that was calling and Sakura briefly saw Uraraka's name. " Hello? Uraraka?"

After the green haired boy left, Sakura went over to the window and let out a low sigh. She turned back to the two boys that were left and offered them a smile. " I'm going to get some water, anyone wanna come?"

" It's okay, I'lm going to wait for my examination paper." Iida replied, turning down the offer. " I also need to talk with Lady Tsunade about something."

" I'll come." Todoroki nodded, following Sakura out.

Sakura nervously led the way over to a water dispenser, and after getting a cup of water, she took a tiny sip before she frowned. " It's lukewarm. I guess it's because of the temperature in the building."

Todoroki then reached over and hovered a finger over her cup. A minute later, the pinkette saw that in the middle of her drink was a ice cube floating around. Forgetting about her how nervous she could get when near the boy next to her, she grinned and finished up her drink.

" You're like a heater as well as an air conditioner all in one. Hey, how about this, I'll look to you if I have a issue with the temperature and in return I'll be your healer!" Sakura grinned, throwing her plastic cup away. " Only if you want to though."

" I don't mind." Todoroki said, giving the girl a small smile. The same one that made her fell for him at the end of the sports festival. Damn it.

The next thing Sakura knew, she was leaning on the wall with a look of defeat on her face. After recovering, the pinkette and Todoroki made their way back to their hospital room side by side to see that Iida and Tsunade were talking.

"...sorry, I don't think I can help much in this situation. Perhaps if I was the doctor assigned to him when he had first reached the hospital I could've healed all his injuries, but from what you've told me, it's too late. The wounds had already settled in." Tsunade was saying.

" Ah, okay. Thank you for looking at his documents first." Iida said, disappointment laced in his every word.

Tsunade frowned at the look on the boy's face before she placed a hand on Iida's shoulders. " Chin up kid, it's not the end of the world. I know what it's like to lose someone in a villain's attack, and I assure you the fact that your brother is still with you is a miracle as well as a blessing."

As Tsunade left the room, she saw both Todoroki and Sakura retreating from the door frame to lean on the wall with expecting looks. Sakura had on a look of concern, her furrowed eyebrows showed that much.

" He'll be fine." Tsunade told them, referring to Iida. " Come on Sakura, it's time for you to be discharge, your friends are also free to leave today."

" Ah, I forgot where I placed my Hero Costume!" Sakura exclaimed, only remembering now.

Todoroki walked into the room, over to the bed Sakura had used the previous night and reached under, and when he came up, a bag with her costume in it was in his hand. He walked backed to the pinkette and handed her the bag. " Here. I remember you putting it under your bed."

" What a prince charming." Tsunade said with a smirk when she saw Sakura's heated face. " Finish up with your good-byes, you still have a couple of days with me before you'll see them again."

With that said, Tsunade walked away at the same time as when Midoriya came back from his phone call with Uraraka. Deciding to also check on Iida, Sakura went back into the room to day farewell to everyone at the same time.

" Bye Haruno, but I'm sure I'll be seeing you occasionally on the streets." Iida said, supporting a smile. " And thanks for helping me out as well."

" Uraraka says hi and wants you to call her tonight." Midoriya informed. " See you after the internship."

" See you guys soon." Sakura gave all three of the boys a wide smile as she turn to leave. But just as she reached the door, Todoroki mumbled a quiet good bye as well, casuing the pinkette to turn back to him. " Call me Sakura. After what we've been through together, I think it's about time."

With that said, she flashed the three one last smile before turning, holding out one of her hand and slightly waving as well. However, just as she she neared Tsunade, she felt her ring tone going off, and when she checked to see who it was, the name Firecracker appeared.

" I have to take this." Sakura mouthed to her mentor, walking away to a more private place to take her call. " Firecracker! What's up?"

" You were there during the Hero Killer's appearance, along with the shitty nerd, the Half-and-Half bastard, and Glasses." Bakugou stated plainly. " The reporters said that Endeavor was the one to take down Stain, is it true?"

" I don't know." Sakura said, biting her lips. She had promised not to tell anyone of what really happened, but this was Bakugou of all people. " I was there, but I only helped out with the other presented villains. But since Endeavor's really strong, I guess it's true."

The pinkette heard the someone shouting at the boy in the background, and after Bakugou had responded, he went back to his call with Sakura. " Are you okay?"

" Better then okay." Sakura assured, sliding down the wall so she was sitting on the floor. " Did anything new today?"

" The little shits here are getting on my nerve!" Bakugou exploded, and Sakura could already picture one of his veins throbbing in anger. " One's over there saying how I got captured by a villain from awhile back. The others are crying!"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the description. Once she got control over her laughter, she let out a soft hummed. " You would be a great hero."

" Obviously." Bakugou returned. " I have to go on another patrol, but it's a waste of time when we're only waving to citizens and trying to calm little shits down. Bye Bubblegum, see you in a few days. And you better not be covered in bandages when I see you!"

It took a few minutes, but Sakura soon ended the call once she decided that she was stalling from then saying a proper good-bye. However, instead of going back to the front desk immediately, the pinkette decided to call Uraraka next. Almost instantly, the brunette picked up.

" Sakura-chan!" Uraraka shouted, her tone showing that she had been worried. " Are you okay? I know Deku said you were, but I think I need you to confirm it!"

" I'm okay, in fact, I think I've gotten even stronger!" Sakura said cheekily. " So how's it going with Gunhead?"

As the two girls exchanged stories, with the exception of what really happened with the Hero Killer, they soon closed their call ten minutes after, the same time Tsunade found Sakura and dragged her outside.

" So who was it this time? Another boy?" Tsunade asked as they got into the car.

Sakura didn't know how to answer the question since the one Tsunade had caught the pinkette talking to was a girl, but before the woman came, it was a boy. " No...?"

Tsunade shrugged her shoulders uncaringly, eyes focussed on the road when they got into the car. " Well, I guess it doesn't really matter since you're already interested in the other boy, Shouto Todoroki was it? Unless of course you actually have your eye on the taller one. Or maybe the blob of green hair?"

" Deku's like my brother!" Sakura defended. " And Iida's just a friend. Beside, I still don't really know what my emotions are."

Tsunade stayed silent after that, and Sakura didn't bother to break the silence. The pinkette already knew about her mentor's messed up love life. Tsunade herself had told the pinkette about how she had loved a man name Dan, but to only lose him to death.

And even after so many years, Tsunade couldn't get over him. Although it was pretty obvious that Jiraiya had asked Tsunade out on a date multiply times but was coldly rejected. Maybe it was best Sakura kept romance away from her as well.

" It's best to keep romance away from you if you're focussed on becoming a hero." Tsunade advised, as if reading the pinkette's mind.

Sakura stared out the window, her thoughts all over the place. Perhaps Tsunade was right, romance was just out of the question when the pinkette really thought about it now. The only problem was, Sakura was prone to be a slave to her own emotions no matter which it was.


	28. Series I: Twenty Eight

The next day after coming back from the hospital, Tsunade informed the pinkette of forming a temporary team with another intern who was also in the city as an exercise. Much to Sakura's happiness, the intern was the same age as her.

" Her name's Karin, and her Quirk makes her more of a sensor type." Tsunade told Sakura as they made their way over to meet the said intern and Pro hero Karin was interning for after the pinkette finished changing into her costume. " She's currently under Zōsui's wings, learning about how to expand her Quirk's ability."

After awhile, Karin and Zōsui came into view. Karin was a red head with red eyes to match, but the most out spoken part about her was the style her hair supported, which earned a snicker from a certain pinkette. Zōsui on the other hand was much more stern looking, representing a much more serious hero.

" Tsunade." Zōsui greeted gruffly before nodding at Sakura's way in acknowledgement. " I suppose we should start by explaining what's going on."

" Yes, well after today you'll both be on your way back to school, so we decided to see how you've improve if we put you guys in extreme pressure." Tsunade explained. " It's not a play, it's the real deal. Last night we've been informed that there is a little girl that had gone missing. We've received classified news that she's at the moment in a warehouse."

Karin snorted at the pinkette near her. " Eh? You expect me to work with her? She'd only drag me down."

" Excuse me? You're one to talk!" Sakura retorted with a huff, finding it rather offensive considering how much she had work to get stronger.

" Now, now, girls." Tsunade tried to smooth down the tension with a smile. " This will teach you of alliance with different people, a handy skill for in the future when you don't know who'll also be sent to help out with a situation."

" Here are ear pieces for you guys to keep in contact with us." Zōsui said, holding out the said items. " The plan is simple, get in from the north side of the warehouse and through a locked window, and form there, you do what you need to do to get that little girl out. Now lets go."

Keeping a distance from Karin, Sakura followed the two Pro Heroes to where the location of where the little girl was told to be. Both Tsunade and Zōsui stayed back while the two teens slowly advanced nearer to the warehouse once they got there. However, with Karin's constant complaint, Sakura found her patience thin.

" Can you shut up!?" The pinkette hissed. " If you keep it up, we'll be caught before we even get a glimpse of the villain."

Karin glared at the pinkette, and before long, she stuck out her leg unexpectedly, tripping Sakura. Soon, Sakura attacked Karin with a heavy punch with resulted in both the girl forgetting about their mission and instead fighting each other.

" Did you two turn idiots over night?" Tsunade asked through the earpiece Sakura and Karin was wearing. " Stay focus! There's a little girl tied up and being help hostage. Why are you wasting time fight each other? If this continues on, we'll drop this whole mission and take care of it ourself."

" Old hag." Karin commented, earning an angry rant from Tsunade. " Okay, okay! Can you keep quiet now?"

With both pinkette and rosette on rocky terms, getting silently over to the north side was a slow and painful walk. However, they successfully made it to their destination and found the locked window a feet or so above them.

" Help me up." Sakura mouthed to Karin, to which the red head snorted and shook her head. " Do you want to be the one who breaks the lock instead then?"

" You better not be heavy!" Karin hissed as Sakura got on her shoulders. " Hey watch it! You're stepping on my hair!"

With trouble, Sakura got high up enough to get a grasp on the lock. She guided the flow of her Quirk to her hands, and which her eyes glowing green, she crushed the lock between her hands. As quietly as she could, Sakura opened the window and hoisted her self inside.

Thankfully, there were craters stacked near the window inside so it made it easier for the pinkette to also help Karin inside. Once both had their feet on solid ground, Sakura pressed her ear piece and it started buzzing.

" We're in." Sakura said, keeping it short. " What now?"

" Ask Karin. Kid, you can't reply on us oldies once you're on the field in the future forever." Tsunade informed. " Put I will tell you this, we were told the little girl is being held around southeast of the building. Keep in touch if anything else happens."

Sighing, the pinkette turned to her current partner and reluctantly asked for advice. " How many villains are we look at and where exactly is the little girl being held?"

Karin turned away from the pinkette and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, Karin felt the nearest wall before turning back to Sakura. " Three villains, and the girl is in the fourth room of the second hall in the southeast zone."

With an impressed look on her face, Sakura allowed Karin to lead the way to where the location was. With light steps, the two girls watched out for traps in the hallway and made their way to the room where the little girl was, with Karin keeping watch of any ambush that may take place anytime.

Finally, Sakura found herself standing in front of the door that led to where their client was held. Her hand reached for the door and gripped it tightly in her hands. And just as she was about to crush it, she heard an ear splitting shriek from behind her.

" Watch out!" Karin screamed while she was being held tightly a large man, making it so she couldn't move her arms.

Just as a hand was about to smack the pinkette's head into the door, Sakura was able to dive out of the way right on time. She looked up to meet a man with a long scar running down his eye to jaw.

Seeing a direct attack, Sakura grabbed the villain's arm and swung him against the door, and from the impact of the large man, the door broke as the villain was thrown into it. With no more door, the villain in the room started to help out the large man in capturing Sakura.

" Damn it, how'd two little girls manage to get this far?!" A villain cursed as he tried to grabbed the pinkette but to no success.

With it now being three against one, Sakura had trouble dodging, and because she was busy, she couldn't contact for help on the spot. Deciding that she needed to take care of the number problem, the pinkette climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling.

She retreated her Quirk from her feet and instead to her hands. Instantly, the pinkette went plunging to the ground, her fist pulled back. The moment her fist collided against the metal floor, the ground shook as did the building.

Thanks to the sudden earthquake, the villain had trouble with their foot, and using it to her advantage, Sakura ran over to the nearest villain and knocked him out with a punch to the abdomen that sent the man crashing into the wall. With the earthquake now settled down, Sakura discovered that multiply debris had jumped out from the ground, one even coming close to hitting the hostage.

With one down and two more to go, Sakura pumped her Quirk into her fists. She attacked the smaller man, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught Karin flipping out of the hold she was in and breaking free.

The two girls regroup, their back to one another so there was no blind spot where the villain could attack without one of them being ready to counter. Quickly, Sakura pulled out a blade and threw it at the bigger villain. Being distracted by the sharp object, the villain didn't see the punch that was coming at him from the pinkette.

Her sudden attack sent the villain crashing to the ground since it was a body blow. Karin on the other hand didn't have the needed body strength to take down her opponent, but what she lacked was made up by her quick thinking.

" Give me a blade Pinky!" Karin demanded, and despite getting annoyed by the nickname, Sakura threw her one that she caught with ease.

With a weapon now in her hand, Karin positioned it and charged at the villain in front of her. Figuring that a simple weapon wasn't enough to take care of a grown man, Sakura charged at the villain from behind.

The weapon was pierce into the man's stomach, and Sakura got him from the back. And from the sound of it, the pinkette's attack had rippled reached the other side and one of his ribs had broken under the impact. Slowly, both girls released the man and he collapsed onto the ground.

The girls gave each other a hive five, but after realizing it, they both turned their head the other way and huffed. But the soft muffling coming from the little girl soon brought their attention over to her.

" Are you okay?" Sakura asked as she undid the cloth that kept the five year old from talking. " It's okay now, we got you."

" Do you-" However, Karin was cut short after hearing slow clapping coming from the shadows.

Shock, Sakura turned her head toward the sound to found a man stepping into the light, a eerie smile on his face. Out of reflect, the pinkette stood in front of the child to shield her from the new comer in case he was to sudden rush at them.

" Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The man said, causing the little girl to tremble in fright and hide behind the two teens. " Sakura Haruno from UA and a red head who I do not know. But that doesn't matter, what does it that why did the heroes send two little girls to help?"

Karin gave the pinkette a questioning look, one that Sakura couldn't answer. However, Sakura had figured it was because the villains were only minors, easy enough for skilled interns to take care of. And beside, Tsunade along with Zōsui were just outside waiting for a sort of signal.

" Are you wondering why this little girl of all people?" The man asked, a smirk on his face. " It's cause she's quite skilled, with a Quirk that can support and even enchant another's ability. I'm disappointed she didn't help my men fight against you two."

However, Sakura didn't allow him to go on as she had already rushed at him with her fist pulled back in ready position. But, just as she brought her fist forward and it was inches from the man's face, the villain swat at it.

" It took awhile, but I've figured out your fighting style. You're very predictable after being analyzed thoroughly." The man commented as he countered yet another one of the pinkette's attack. " Perhaps you should try doing some fakes before actually delivering an attack, it may help."

He was taunting her. The fact that he was giving her advice when they were enemies told the pinkette he didn't take her serious at all, showing that he was very confident in himself. In other words, he was different from the earlier villains.

" Four-Eyes, contact Lady Tsunade and Kōsui, now!" Sakura ordered, to which the red head went off, but did as she was told.

" It's not going through!" Karin informed, trying to keep her panic at bay in front of the client. " Something's messing with the devices."

" That would be me." The villain smiled, and although it wasn't hostile, the happy smile sent a shiver down Sakura's spine. " No use calling for help now. Now come on before I decide to just grab the little girl and be off."

Sakura clenched her jaw before addressing Karin one more time. " Take care of our client, and if you have the chance, run for it."

" Sacrificing yourself like a true hero now are you? How about this, join me instead." The man offered, but when Sakura replied with an attempt attack, he shook his head with a tired smile on his face before he took his hands out from his pockets. " If that's how you want it, fine."

Sakura retreated to a distance before she ran at the man, building up momentum while doing so. She first attacked with a low kick before switching it up to a punch aiming for the jaw. Quickly after one attack, the pinkette went in for another, hoping that with all the punches and kicks she was throwing, the villain wouldn't have time to think of a way to attack back.

" You've changed your approach." The villain commented. " But that's not good enough."

Suddenly, the villain held out his hand and formed it into a gun. From the finger he was pointing at Sakura, a sort of electric ball went shooting at the pinkette. The ball collided against the girl and it travel though out her body, resulting in smokes coming off from her costume.

" So? Do you still think you stand a chance?" The man asked as he started to build up yet another ball of power. " Since that size didn't bring you to your knees, lets try a bigger one."

However, now more informed of the Quirk the energy possessed, Sakura easily dodged it before going straight in for another attack. But when he fist collided against the villain's abdomen, she found that his whole body was surrounded by electricity sparks that sent her to the ground, screaming.

" J-Just hold on a little longer Pinky!" Karin encouraged, picking the child up into her arms.

Sakura got up slowly, but once she was once her feet, she turned her head toward the five year old and offered her a grin. " Don't worry kid, I promise you'll get you out. Sorry it's taking so long though."

Turning back to the man, Sakura ran forward, this time her leg getting ready for an attack. Predicting a high kick, the villain got ready to zap the girl. But instead of a high kick, Sakura landed her feet in front of her heavily, and did a one eighty turn, her hand out stretched.

With that new from, the pinkette delivered a backspin blow that caused the villain to go flying back into a wall. Wasting no time, Sakura charged at the man once more, this time with a more advance stance.

Unfortunately, the villain rolled away right in time, avoiding the punch. However, since it didn't land on a body and instead on the wall, the building begun to sway and cracked, threatening to fall down in a few more minutes. Because the villain was slightly still dazed from the previous attack, he wasn't as fast in reacting to Sakura next couple of attacks.

The pinkette grabbed the villain by the arm and swung him around, and before long, she released him into the air and he crashed into the ceiling before falling onto the ground. Just as Sakura was about to attack again, the villain suddenly held pressed his hand to an ear piece in his ear.

" W-wait! Kid stop! This is just an exercise, it's not real!" The man defended. " Tsunade, get your ass in here before your student decides not to believe me!"

Suddenly, loud clapping could be heard coming from the doorway, and when Sakura turned to see who it was, it was none other then Tsunade with a satisfied smile on her face. " Well done you two, you passed!"

* * *

Once thing had been sorted out and the truth came out, Sakura heaved a sigh of relief. Turns out that everything, from the whole hostage to the so call villains was just a set up for Sakura and Karin to overcome. In fact, the five year old was one of the villain's kid.

Tsunade took care of any wounds on the men who had gotten injured from the fight. However, instead of being bitter about being beaten, the three men congratulated the grils with wide smiles. But Sakura knew that they had been holding back, not wanting to seriously hurt them.

" Nice job girls." Kōsui congratulated, earning a shock look from Karin.

" T-thank you sir!" Th red head said, bowing. It was obvious that getting a good job from Zōsui was rare by those actions.

" I almost zapped you for real." The man, now known as Elec since his debut as an official Pro Hero a few days ago. " I came so close to going serious on you after you sent me crashing to the roof. You're something else, Haruno."

Sakura sheepishly smile, but when her eyes clashed with Karin's, she gave the rosette a respectable nod that Karin returned. After awhile, everything cleared out, including the building that had eventually fell down when everyone was outside. Karin and Kōsui went back for the night, and Sakura and Tsunade headed back as well.

" So what did you learn today? You had better learn something, I didn't go through the trouble of rounding up available Heroes just for you to tell me you didn't learn anything." Tsunade said, but the pinkette didn't reply. " What's eating at you?"

Sakura looked up at Tsunade, her eyes calculating something. Finally, the pinkette spoke her mind. " I'm interested in sensing other's energy, like Karin. And the little girl, who's Quirk is enchanting other's ability, I want to learn more about it. Today, I discovered so many useful Quirk that could help me in the future, and I'm deciding to make full use of my Quirk. Can you help me?"

" Sure, but It'll take a few days or week to collected the needed information." Tsunade replied, approving of her student's decision. " But don't worry, I'll send them over once I've dissected out the pattern and activation of those Quirk."

" Since we might not see each other much now, do you mind if I reply on you to collect information on Quirks I'm interested in learning?" The pinkette asked, on a roll after gathering confidence. " I'll need all the help I can get, and you're one of the most reliable."

Tsunade ruffled her student's hair affectionately. " Of course. I'll make sure you reach your dream, so feel free to ask anytime."

That night after dinner, Sakura went to sleep with her bags packed to go back home. She was giddy from the idea of showing others how much she had improve, and at the new found discovery of curiosity about how much Quirks she could master.

Today had become an official starting mark for Sakura Haruno's new growth. And there was no telling when she'd reach her limit. But once she unlocked the seal, there may be no limit at all considering the amount of energy that Sakura would be in full access of.

In the meantime, the pinkette was going to have to open as many doors of possibilities as she can. Even the locked ones.


	29. Series I: Twenty Nine

The day after, the internship had finally came to an end. The pinkette had her breakfast and was saw off at the train station by Tsunade. However, the train was held back by a few minutes, giving Sakura more time to say good-bye to her mentor.

" I guess you'll be back to Konoha by tonight, right?" Sakura asked. " So when are you going to official announce your retirement?"

" By the time you get back to school, everyone will know the news." Tsunade replied, staring off into the distance. " I'll still be the Fifth Hokage Hero, but we'll have to find a sixth one soon. I'm thinking of giving the title to Kakashi, but lets keep this between us until further agreement."

Sakura pondered about her own title, and after awhile, she decided to ask Tsunade about it. " All Might's known as the Symbol of Peace, a title that's different from other Hero's, I want to gain that kind of title once I debut."

" Then work harder." Tsunade shrugged. " No, but seriously, what use is a Quirk like yours if you decide on the limit yourself. Keep pushing until you feel like you can't go on. Now would you look at that, your train is here. Until next time kid."

" Bye Lady Tsunade!" The pinkette bid, waving as she stepped onto the train. " Say hi to Shizune for me as well! And Tonton!"

With that said, the doors to the train slid close and was on its way back to Musutafu, Japan. Just like the ride to Hosu, the ride back was short enough that Sakura didn't fall asleep right away. And before she knew it, her stop had already come into view.

" Ah, now I have nothing to do for the day." Sakura sighed, remembering that she wasn't going back to school until tomorrow once she had gotten back to her house. " I wonder if Ochaco is back."

However, the pinkette chose not to call anyone and instead went back out to her backyard to practice what she couldn't finish during her internship. Despite her progress, the pinkette still couldn't get the grasp of releasing energy.

Nevertheless, she kept at it until the afternoon. From there, after having lunch, Sakura decided to do some light reading to get her mind clear. Finally, the night came and the pinkette was able to get some sleep, school in her thoughts until she was out cold and was drifting off into dreams.

* * *

The moment the pinkette stepped into the classroom the next morning, she was met by obnoxious laughter that she soon figured out what they were directed at. Actually, it was a _who_. Sakura tried to stifle her own laughter when she noticed Bakugou's flat hair.

" F-Firecracker!" Sakura grinned as she leaned on Kirishima's shoulders for support as she tried to stifle her laughter. " You...you look amazing!"

" Why you...!" Bakugou shouted as his hands went flying over to the trio.

Sakura ducked down right on time, and Bakugou instead managed to get a hold on two of the three he was aiming for. As the pinkette popped back up, her eyes lit up when she saw the three faces that she had also seen during her internship.

" Shouto! Deku! Iida!" Sakura cheered as she walked over to them. Once she made it, she plopped herself on top of Todoroki's desk since that was the desk the others were surrounding. " I'm glad we're back in school again!"

" Same, so did you guys do anything else for the rest of the internship?" Midoriya asked. " All I did was continue on trying to expand the percentage of my Quirk."

Iida poked his glasses further up his nose as he gave the pinkette a smile. " I had gotten some more serious talk from Manual, and I now understand more of what a true hero is. His words showed me an even clearer image of my mistakes."

" My old man was irritated by the news of the Hero Killer, but I guess I had learned something from him." Todoroki shrugged. " And you? What did you do, Sakura?"

Sakura looked at Todoroki with wide eyes before she flashed a wide smile. " Hey! You called me by my first name, that makes me kinds happy! Well, to answer your question, I fought against some villains and met an intern from a different school. The only problem was that the villains weren't actual villains and were just rookie Pro Heroes."

" Eh? That's still pretty cool!" Ashido suddenly jumped in as she went over to Sakura and hugged the girl. " Hi Sakura-chan!"

" Everyone had changed somehow compared to when we last saw each other, but I think Haruno, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki changed the most." Kirishima commented while Bakugou was still holding him and Kaminari by their jackets.

Suddenly, the whole class started to surround the four, each with either an impress or concern look on their face since they knew that Sakura, Iida, Todoroki, and Midoriya were all there during the Hero Killer's attack. However, when Ojiro brought up about how Stain was said to be involve with the League Of Villains, the topic switched over to Stain rather then the four teens.

" Imagine someone that scary coming to the USJ during the attack." Jiro shivered.

" Yeah, but did you see the video? It just shows how single minded and tenacious Stain is that it makes us thinks he's cool, doesn't it?" Kaminari asked, and although his words were not meant to cause any harm, Sakura frowned at him.

Midoriya was the first to say something about his comment. " Kaminari!"

Kaminari appeared confused for a few seconds, but when he spotted Iida standing only a few feet away, he held out his hand in his defense and stuttered over himself. " I-Iida! I didn't...I'm so sorry!"

" No, it's fine." Iida assured. " It's true that he was tenacious, so I understand that some could view him as cool. But he choose to kill for what he believed, and I think that's what's flawed about his belief. And to keep others from turning out like me, I'll continue on to walk the path of a hero!"

" Ah, speaking of walking the path of a hero, I heard Lady Tsunade's retiring." Midoriya brought up, turning to Sakura for confirmation.

" Yep, and to be honest, she's been thinking of doing that before I even started my internship with her." Sakura sighed. " She's now just trying to be a principal, but whether she does the work of a principal is not promised."

Uraraka wailed and hugged the pinkette around the neck. " But why? She's still so young!"

" She's over fifty -ribbit- I think that's a good age to retire." Asui added, causing Uraraka to look up with shock written all over her face. " I -ribbit- know, she looks younger."

The pinkette laughed as the conversation suddenly shifted to Tsunade's age and how she kept her young looks. However, everyone was forced to drop the disscussion when Aizawa walked in to start class.

* * *

Hero Basic Training rolled by as the day went on, and the students of Class A all changed out of their school uniform into their hero costume. Once Sakura finished changing, she and the other girls made their way over to where class was being held.

" Welcome back everyone from your internship!" All Might greeted, his voice booming as always. " And since this will be your first Hero Basic Training after getting back, we'll be kicking off with a rescue training race in Field Gamma!"

" If we're doing rescue training, shouldn't we be doing it at the USJ instead?" Iida asked, his hand raised.

All Might shook his head in answer. " That place is only for rescuing in disaster. For a little introduction for you to get familiar with this setting, all you need to know is that it's set up with many factory-like building. And for the race itself, you'll start from one point and I'll be waiting at another as someone who need rescuing. Okay, lets start!"

The first set of starting players were soon decided which included Sakura, Midoriya, Iida, Ojiro, Ashido, and Sero. While the rest of the last went to a section of the area where a big screen was, the six student went to different parts of Field Gamma as their starting point.

" I'm rooting for you, Sakura-chan!" Uraraka informed before walking away.

Sakura stretched out her arms and legs as she waited for All Might to give the signal. When she finished, her eyes started to glow an intense green, and before long, she head the distress call All Might told them to listen for.

Quickly, the pinkette guided a portion of her Quirk into the soles of her feet so she wouldn't fall off or slipped, and soon, she took off into the air before landing a good distance away from her starting point.

Doing flips, as well as landing on all four to give a boost to her next jumps, Sakura was easily in first place. However, just as she swept passed Sero, she saw a familiar moving green that jumped right passed her in a blink of an eye.

" Deku!" Sakura shouted as she pour in more of her Quirk to her legs. The action gave her a burst of power that allowed her to jump high and land farther away from where she took off previously. She soon passed Midoriya, and when she did, she turned her head back to give the boy a cocky smile.

However, as the pinkette kept up her pace, she noted how similar Midoriya's moves were to Bakugou. And when she imagined Bakugou's reaction, Sakura couldn't help but snicker under her breath.

But, much to Sakura's disappointment, Midoriya suddenly caught up to so that they were running side by side. Suddenly, just as All Might came into view, Midoriya lost his footing and plunged to the ground. And before Sakura knew it, her hand reached for the boy's leg.

Beforehand, the pinkette knew she was going to miss, so instead, she changed from being on top of a pipe to hanging from it, Midoriya's leg tightly in her hand. The said boy looked to be in a state of shock from seeing the girl just hanging, and it wasn't just him.

" Come on Deku, let's finish this!" Sakura called, as she went back to being on top of the pipe. Once Midoriya had a solid stand, she just about to take off when she noticed that someone else had already reached All Might. " Damnit."

" Neat trick." Midoriya commented to which the girl grinned proudly. " I didn't really noticed it during our fight against Stain, but seeing it now, it's really cool."

 **"It's only the start."** The voice said, coming back, and even though Sakura knew only she could hear it, the pinkette winced, not from pain, but from the voice's sudden appearance.

" Come on, we already lost the race, but might as well meet up with the others." Sakura said, pulling Midoriya along with her.

Together, the two met up with the everyone else from their set, who were all crowding around All Might. From there, All Might commented on how, even though Sero was the one who won, everyone had improve since the beginning of the year.

" Keep working hard for your final exams, okay?" All Might informed, more of s demand then a request. " Group one, you can leave. Next group, get in position!"

Just as the pinkette was about to leave, All Might stepped in front of her and Midoriya with a wide grin on his face. " You guys both did great. I couldn't believe my eyes when you started hopping, Young Midoriya. And Cherry Blossom Of The Spring, congratulation to you on gaining another ability."

Sakura's eyes lip up as she started to smile. " Thank you sir!"

" Both of you come look for me after school as well." All Might said, receiving a nod from both Sakura and Midoriya in answer. " It's time to inform the two of you of my history, or at least part of it."

* * *

After everyone had a chance to go, the class went back into the locker room to change back. However, just as Sakura removed the ouch around her waist her heard soft mumbling from the other side of the room.

"...Peeping is a criminal act Mineta!" Came Iida's voice came, giving an idea to the girl what was happening.

Jiro went over to the wall to discover the hole that Mineta and some of the boys were fussing over about. However, Yaoyorozu held up a hand to check if Mineta was really thinking of peeping before sending Jiro over to stab the boy's eyes with her Earphone Jack.

" Just think!" Mineta could be heard saying, causing curiosity to somewhat spark in Sakura as to his next words. " Yaoyorozu's ample boobs! Ashido's slender waist! Hagakure's floating underwear! Uraraka's fit body! Asui's boobies! And even though Haruno's flat chested her pretty face and slim body-!"

Before the Mineta could continue on, Jiro had already done her deed, stopping him from going on as he yelped in pain. However, Sakura stared down at her chest, her bangs shadowing her face in dismay. She held up her hands to where her boobs would've been if not flat, and she let out a sigh.

" I'm flat." Sakura plainly said, turning to the other girls.

" Ah, it's okay Sakura-chan." Uraraka tried to comfort the pinkette. " You're still pretty without them."

" That's not the point though!" Sakura wailed as she finished getting dressed, causing the other girls to giggle at her antics. The pinkette was the last to leave, since she had spent some of her time sulking as well as cursing Mineta out under her breathe.

When she walked out, dressed in her school uniform once more, Mineta came out just as she was walking passed the boy's locker room on her way to her next class. She showed him her fist, causing the boy to nervously laugh as he inched away. Next came Bakugou, who smirked at Sakura when he saw her.

" He's right you know, you're flat chested." Bakugou said, walking away right after saying that.

" Shut up, Firecracker!" Sakura shouted after him, a twitching smile on her face as she clenched her fist in front of her and grounded them together in a threatening way. " No one asked for your input anyway!"

Bakugou suddenly turned around half way when he was a couple feet away from her. " I didn't finish. He's right you know, you're flat chested. But that's okay. See you tomorrow Bubblegum."

" Ah." Sakura said, the only think she could think of saying. Suddenly, after Bakugou's words sunk in, she felt steam coming out of her ears as she flushed. She fell down into a crouch position and held her head. Her eyes were dizzy as she thought of what Bakugou could have possibly meant. " D-does he mean...? N-no, he probably didn't mean anything else."

Suddenly, the pinkette heard the door of the boy's locker room open up behind her. Midoriya's voice quickly followed. " Was that Kaccahn? Did he say anything to you?"

" W-what? No! Why are you so slow, hurry up!" Sakura said, going from flustered, to denial, to accusation.

When Todoroki exited the locker room next and stood next to Midoriya to see what they were talking about, Sakura gave them a hasty wave before speeding off down the hall, her face buried into her hands while doing so.

" What's wrong with Sakura?" Todoroki asked Midoriya when the said girl turned a corner to only crash into a wall and even apology to it. Midoriya shrugged his shoulders, eyes furrowed in concern for the pinkette considering her odd behavior.

* * *

Once the last class of today was dismissed, Sakura waited for Midoriya so they could go looking for All Might together. By the way Sakura was smiling and from her action was calmer, Midoriya's worries for her vanished, figuring that it was nothing serious and was just a passing phase.

The two teens made their way over to where they usual talk to All Might in private, and when they opened the door to the room, the Pro was slumped over and had an air of seriousness hanging around him. And the fact that he was in his skeleton form added onto the atmosphere.

" Have a seat you two." All Might said, almost gravely.

Sakura looked at Midoriya, and they both gulped at the difference in All Might from the Hero Basic Training and the All Might of now. Slowly, Sakura Made her way over to a chair in front of All Might and sat down, shifting uncomfortably around.

" You guys both went through a lot during your internship, huh?" All Might commented. " Sorry I wasn't nearby. But I'm glad Tsunade along with Endeavor was."

" I-it's okay! It isn't something you should be apologizing about." Midoriya said, and Sakura nodded along with him in agreement. " S-so, what did you wanted to talk about. It sounded important."

" I heard," All Might started, bringing a finger near his lips and licking it, " That the Hero Killer got a lick of your blood."

Midoriya nodded in reply, and from there he explained to All Might the details of the night as well as what he had learned about Stain's Quirk. When the boy finished, All Might hung his head, and after awhile, he looked up and asked if either Sakura or Midoriya remember what he had said to Midoriya the day he passed his Quirk onto him.

The two teens looked at each other before doing an impression of All Might together, each with a piece of hair in their hands. " Eat this."

" No, not that part." All Might said, giving both of them a weird look. " I said that it didn't matter as long as you take in my DNA."

" Ah!" Sakura yelped as she abruptly stood up. " Do you mean that The Hero Killer Stain might have One For All Now? We have to do something then! It could be dangerous if we don't take actions right away."

All Might waved at the pinkette to take her seat again. " No, I just thought that you guys would've thought of that and had been worried. But it seems both of you had forgotten about it already. One For All can only be transfer if the current bearer wishes to pass it on. So you should be safe Young Midoriya. But be warned, although it can not be taken by force, it can be transfer by force."

" Huh?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side in question. " How does that happen?"

" What I'm about to tell you shouldn't be spoken carelessly, understood?" All Might asked, eyeing the students. " One For All was obtained from a different Quirk from the past. The name of that Quirk is All For One. A Quirk that could steal other's Quirk and take it as their own and it could also give Quirks to others."

Midoriya frowned. " The name of the Quirk itself is self explanatory."

" Yes, the time takes place when superpowers were just popping up." All Might went on. " The people at the time didn't know how to deal with the changes, and laws lost their meaning, causing an uproar. During that era, there was someone who was the first to bring unity among everyone."

Sakura listen intently, finding the extra history lesson both interesting as well as somewhat complicated compared to the present time. All Might went on explaining about how that someone stole Quirks from other and committed crimes to his heart's content.

" I've read rumors on this online before, but I thought it was all just made up." Sakura said. " I mean, it's not even in any textbooks that I've read."

" That's exactly what I thought too." Midoriya added on. " Beside, how does this relate to One For All?"

" I said All For One was a Quirk that could give other power, right?" All Might asked. " But there was also some given Quirks that could not bear the burden and became living dolls that could no longer speak. However, there were also Quirks that mixed or changed during the process."

" So One For All is one of those Quirks, right?" Sakura asked to which All Might nodded.

All Might leaned back in to his seat and looked up at the ceiling before continuing on. " He had a younger brother who was Quirkless. The younger brother had a strong sense of justice and resisted his older brother's evil ways. However, All For One forced a Quirk that could stock power into his younger brother one day."

" Don't tell me..." Midoriya trailed off, lost for words.

However, All Might soon picked up where Midoriya was unable to finish. " That's right. The younger brother was thought to be Quirkless, but in fact, he indeed have a Quirk. A useless Quirk that could pass on Quirks And from there, One For All was born."

" Ironic, isn't it?" Sakura asked. " Justice coming out of evil I mean. But why are you bringing up a Villain from such a long time ago?"

" Because of the difference in power at that time, the younger brother could only entrusted his Quirk to the generation after him." All Might said. " Which leads me to believe that All For One probably stole an immortal Quirk from someone."

Sakura frowned. " So does that mean that the leader of evil could still be walking to this day?"

" Yes, in fact when it was my turn, I was finally able to defeat the older brother." All Might declared. " Or at least I thought that. Unfortunately he survived that day and is now the brains to the League Of Villains. But considering my state, I won't be able to stand a proper chance him now."

All Might walked over to the window and stared out at the sun. Meanwhile Midoriya was deep in thoughts, slightly mumbling. Sakura on the other hand had a blank look her face, and after awhile, she stood up and walked over to the window as well.

" That's okay, All Might." Sakura said, looking up at the pro.

" W-what? What do you mean?" All Might question at the same time as when Midoriya looked up.

Sakura stared out the window before turning back to face both All Might and Midoriya. " I mean it's okay. I already knew since my internship with Tsunade that my generation is slowly approaching, and other's are fading."

" That's right! We'll do out best, as long as you're with us, I feel like I can do anything." Midoriya said. " We will protect the world from falling into any villain's hands."

" If the villain that we spoke of today still exist later into the future, I want you to rest assure that he will fall." Sakura promised, her eyes glinting. " My generation, our generation, will not fall short to those of the pass. I _will_ protect the world, even if the name hero is in flames."

All Might's eyes widened for a few second, because what he saw was like a picture from the future. Instead of seeing the pinkette in front of him as a hero in training and a student, he saw the image of a true Pro Hero standing before him.


	30. Series I: Thirty - Special Extra II

**Special Extra Chapter:**

* * *

Sitting in her seat the following day, Sakura raised a curious eyebrow when she saw three unknown students around her age walk into class. Judging from their grey and navy blue uniform, they weren't fellow UA students and were instead students from a different school.

" It may be coming out of nowhere, but today for our next Hero Exercise, four students from the Hero Course in Isami High School will be joining us." Aizawa informed, causing the pinkette to look around.

Near the back, Mineta could be heard pestering Midoriya about the blue haired girl guest. " She's a glasses girl!"

" Mind giving me a number?" Kaminari asked the said blue haired girl to which Jiro did the pleasure of putting him in line by poking him in the ear with her Earphone Jack.

Aizawa on the other hand had enough of the loud chatter that had erupted in the room and the dozens of voices that were all talking at once. As warning, the pro flashed his eyes, his capture weapon around his neck rising as he did so. On cue, the students of Class A all hushed down, not wanting to provoke their teacher any further.

" Introduce yourself." Aizawa nodded at the guests as a signal.

" Sure." The one seen girl replied. " We'll be running the exercise with you. I'm Kashiko Sekigai, the class representative, pleasure to meet you all."

The attention then shifted over to the plump looking boy who was wiping a piece of cloth on his face. " Same class, I'm Dadan Tadah."

" I'm Fujimi." The blue haired boy in the middle introduced, his slouched form reminding Sakura of a certain blonde delinquent as well. And judging from the scowl on Fujimi's face, the pinkette had a feeling that Fujimi was kind of like Bakugou in a way.

Sakura raised her hand, having a question since Aizawa had told them of the guests. " Mr. Aizawa, you said four students. But there's only three up there, so where's the fourth one?"

Suddenly, as if answering the pinkette, a red haired girl with an appearance matching one of a reptile peeked out over Sekigai's shoulders. From the the reptile girl's body language, Sakura figured that she was a somewhat shy person. And, when Asui and the newcomer hugged, Sakura's eyes widened.

" This doesn't seem right." The pinkette whispered, and Midoriya silently agreed. Since Asui was like a frog, and the new comer a snake, it was no secret that it wasn't just Sakura who thought this way. " S-so you two know each other?"

" Hey Mongoose, don't be too close with these UA kids!" Fujimi snarled before the girl, now known as Mongoose could reply.

At Fujimi's words, Bakugou burst up from his seat. " What did you say?! You Isamishit Baby!"

Upon hearing the blonde shouting insults at their guest, Midoriya nervously asked Bakugou to quiet down. However, Bakugou only turned his head back at the boy and snapped at him to shut up instead, causing Aizawa to finally speak up.

" Why don't you shut up first instead?" Aizawa asked, causing Bakugou to scowl and grit his teeth. " It's time to go so change into your costume and meet up in Ground Omega. And Iida? As class representative, guide the Isami students around so they can get familiar with the school."

" Come on Firecracker, quit picking fights." Sakura lecture, going over to Bakugou and pulling him by the ear in the direction of the changing room. " Be nice."

Bakugou shouted and cursed at the pinkette, but he allowed himself to be led over to the locker rooms. When Sakura let go of his ear and entered the girl's changing room, Bakugou rubbed his sore ears and mumbled darkly under his breath.

" I can never do that, I'd be dead before I even get a pinch on him." Uraraka commented in awe. " You and Bakugou seem to be close."

Sakura unbuttoned her dress shirt and shrugged her shoulders. " I guess. I don't think he has even ever called me by my name, much less surname. I doubt he even bothered to stop calling me Bubblegum. Anyway, since you didn't get a chance to answer me before, I'll ask again. How do you two know each other?"

" We were close friends during Middle School." Asui replied, hands clasped with Mongoose's.

Sakura finished up changing, and along with the other girls, she made her way over to Ground Omega to meet up with the rest of the class. Once everyone was out, Aizawa explained the exercise they would be doing.

" Alright, today me and along with another person will be observing today's exercise." Aizawa said, and just as his last word left his mouth, something covered the sun, and before anyone knew it, All Might had appeared with a thud.

" I've arrived!" All Might declared in his screen time form, and the guest students all stared at him in wonder.

Sakura couldn't help but notice the sudden change in Fujimi's expression. He no longer had on a sour look, but one of admiration the moment All Might arrived. All Might then stood up to his full height and started to introduce the activity for today.

" Okay, we're going to have to go through some survival training together." All Might grinned. " There will be around four players per team, and you'll start at the predetermined position we have chosen. And overall, you have one goal, and that is to survive! The last team standing will be declare the victors!"

" If you bump into another team, and capture them with this tape, you can make them combat ineffective." Aizawa added on, holding up the said tape. " The teams are the following. Team A will be Midoriya, Uraraka, Ashido, and Asui."

All Might held up a piece of paper and continued on with the list. " Team B are Bakugou, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, and Shoji. Team C will be Haruno, Todoroki, Hagakure, Ojiro, and Koda. Team D consist of Iida, Sero, Tokoyami, and Sato."

" And Team E is Jiro, Mineta, Kaminari, and Aoyama. The last team will be the Isami students." Aizawa finished up.

" Yeah! I'm with Shouto!" Sakura cheered, trying to act normal after Todoroki had seen her crashing into a wall and apologizing to it. " Lets work hard Team C to win!"

Aizawa faked a cough to get everyone's attention once more. " Make your way over to your assigned positions. The exercise will begin without warning in five minutes. Now scram."

Together with her team, Sakura ran in to the forest to where the section they were assigned to start at. Once they were sure their surrounding was safe, Sakura sat down on the ground, leaning against Todoroki's back so they were supporting each other.

" So what's the plan? Run or fight?" Hagakure asked excitedly as she started to take off her shoes and gloves. " I've got the capture tape ready!"

Koda held up a finger to his lips, trying to shush Hagakure so that they couldn't be heard. And even though Hagakure was invisible, Sakura could already imagine the sheepish and apologetic smile the girl had on.

Finally, Todoroki stood up to get ready for action. " Lets aim for the guest students. But we'll have to observe first since we don't know their Quirk yet."

" That's right, we can't let them come to our school and win." Sakura grinned, pounding a fist into her palm. " Lets go!"

" If only we had a way of spotting them right away." Ojiro said sighing.

" On it!" Sakura smiled, walking up the side of a tree. She steadily made it to the top, and using the branches and leaves as a sort of curtain, she searched around for where Team F could be. After awhile, she spotted them in a meadow ten or so meters away. The pinkette then jumped down to the ground softly. " They're at north."

Todoroki gave the girl a nod before he made a gesture for everyone to follow him. Carefully, trying to not make any noises that would give away their location, Team C headed north to find their prey. Once only a few feet away with thick trees giving them cover, Todoroki sent Hagakure over to observe their opponents Quirk before engaging in combat of any kind.

However, before Hagakure could even get properly close enough though, Tadan suddenly turned around and launched a single rocket at the invisible girl. Once the white smoke disappear, Sakura couldn't tell whether or not Hagakure got out in time.

" Toru, are you okay?!" Sakura asked, running out into the open along with the rest of her team. " Everyone, no time for observing, go now!"

Suddenly, the pinkette bumped into something she couldn't see. Jumping back in surprise, Sakura yelped to which Hagakure assured the girl it was just her. " I'm fine now. It seems that Tadan boy as a sort of rocket shoot Quirk. And Sekigai's Quirk able to create a chart that can locate people, that's how they knew we were nearby."

" Good work Toru." Sakura said, getting into a stance. " Help Koda out with Mongoose, can you?"

The pinkette didn't hear a reply since she had to dodge an attack from Fujimi who had come to attack aggressively. Ducking under, Sakura came up with an upper cut that sent the boy flying into the air before coming crashing down.

" That's it, let's get serious." Fujimi growled, slowly getting up. " Mongoose, get over here! Do it quick, we need to get rid of them!"

Sakura regrouped back with her team, and Todoroki took a step in front of her while their opponent regroup as well. Suddenly, Mongoose stared right at them, and Sakura couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling in her guts.

" Everyone, cover up!" Sakura warned, but she knew that not all of them were going to make it on their own in time.

However, thankfully Todoroki was in front and he was able to create a wall of ice to block any eye contact that could've taken place. Feeling that the ice had their back, Team C retreated away, finding it hard to battle against people they didn't know what their Quirks were.

" Doesn't matter, I'll get them!" Fujimi shouted, and Sakura couldn't help but look back to see what he was talking about.

She saw a cloud of pink and instantly she knew that it wasn't a good idea to inhale it since all the students from Isami were panicking. She covered her nose and mouth and started to run faster, her eyes glowing green.

" Cover you nose and mouth!" Sakura ordered, and when she ran past her teammates, she picked them up. Hagakure was being held by the wrist by Ojiro while Koda was also barely holding on. " Sorry guys, this might be sudden but we need to get out of here fast!"

The pinkette then jumped up, higher then the trees and started to make her way to higher grounds, or at least higher then where they were at currently. The pink gas was now suddenly getting closer, and Sakura decided to speed up even more.

However, due to the sudden burst of speed, Todoroki, who was being held bridal style with one hand, tightened his hold around the pinkette's neck, causing Sakura to mentally squeal.

 _Calm down, calm down._ Sakura instructed herself, trying to keep from blushing. _Now is not the time._

Finally, Team C made it on to a mountain slope zone and Sakura was able to put her teammates down. Together, they started to continue running, trying to reach the highest peak on the mountain. And just as they neared the top, they came in contact with Team A.

" Do you guys know what that gas is?" Midoriya asked while running.

Ojiro nodded along. " Yeah, it's that kid, Fujimi's Quirk. We don't know what exactly the gas does since we got out right away."

Suddenly, Midoriya stopped in his track, causing everyone else to follow suited. The pinkette stared off the edge of the mountain, and she saw some movements in the trees. Uraraka started to call for them, but soon stopped when she saw the state that the other students were in.

" Firecracker?" Sakura whispered when the said boy walk out of the forest. She gasped when she saw him growling and wandering around. " He's a zombie!"

" And it's not just him, everyone else is as well!" Uraraka shriek, clutching the pinkette's arm.

Sakura took a step forward, but Todoroki held out a hand to block her from going on, taking a protective stance in front of her while doing so. Suddenly, a voice got everyone to look around and be on guard.

" So what do you think of my Quirk?" Fujimi asked with a smirk. " I guess UA isn't as-"

Hagakure's gloved hands pointed at something behind Fujimi, seeing something to be aware of. " Ah, Fujimi, look out!"

But it was too late, Bakugou had crept up on Fujimi and bitten the boy on the shoulders, turning Fujimi into a zombie as well. But before going down, Fujimi let out a cry of shock, his words slurring from the effect of the virus. " Ohho mah gawd!"

" That's Kaccahn for you, still fighting even when turned into a zombie." Midoriya nervously chuckled. " But what are we going to do now, with the Quirk user also effected, how do we reverse the zombie virus?"

The group of nine students started to back up against each other while the zombified students started to advance on them. However, with quick thinking, Todoroki froze the ground, caging the zombies' feet so they couldn't move on. But, it only took a minute before the zombies broke free once more.

" Ah! Help!" Hagakure shouted, and when Sakura turned around, she saw Tokoyami biting the invisible girl.

" W-wait!" Ojiro screamed out in alarm when Kirishima also bit him, and soon, Ojiro was on his way to becoming another zombie.

With two down, they were now only at seven. Wait, scratch that, someone had just taken a bite out of Koda as well. Urgently, Midoriya ushered everyone to slide down the mountain to get away. With the green haired boy going first, everyone else closely followed by.

With a steady pace, everyone managed to get down the mountain, all but Asui who had looked back and trip on a rock because she got distracted by Mongoose who had also turned into a zombie. Once on the grass, Sakura turned back, and her eyes landed on Asui who was sprawl on the ground.

" T-Tsu!" Sakura called out, trying to warn the frog-like girl of the zombies near her.

However, Asui only looked up at Mongoose, and after awhile, Mongoose stayed still, making no movement of trying to turn Asui into a zombie as well. But, much to everyone's surprise, Aoyama suddenly appeared and bit Asui on the shoulders.

" Where did he come from?!" Ashido cried out, hiding behind Sakura while peaking over the pinkette's head.

Uraraka took a step back as more of the zombies got closer, and soon, everyone else who had yet to be turn into a zombie follow suited. Then, a familiar voice came from the sky, and when Sakura looked up, she saw All Might jumping in to help.

" Everything is all right now!" All Might's voice rang throughout the areas, and everyone whipped their heads over to his direction. " Why? Because..."

His entrance caused dust to rise, blades of winds to ripple around, and the ground to shake. But when everything settled down, instead of seeing All Might in his muscle form, a tiny, withered skeleton stood where All Might was suppose to be standing.

"...I am here!" The man announced, but instead of feeling assured, Uraraka and Ashido grabbed both Sakura and Midoriya and made a run for it, Todoroki following their lead. The pinkette could hear All Might calling after them, but it grew fainted as they got further away.

The five teens ended up in a cave where Todoroki blocked the entrance with some ice to keep the zombies away. Sakura sat down and soon, thoughts of how long the zombie Quirk would last and how they would hold up consumed her mind

" I'm sure the teachers will jump in when it gets too dangerous!" Uraraka said, thinking positive.

 _Help did show up, but you thought he was a zombie._ Sakura sighed.

" I'm sure they'll return to normal once the gas clears, I just don't know how long it'll take." Midoriya commented. " It only..."

Everyone jumped after they all heard the wall of ice behind them start to get banged on. Sakura stood up and got into a reluctant stance, and although she knew that she could easily knocked all of them out until they returned to normal, she feared leaving them with real injuries.

Luckily, when the ice started to shatter, Todoroki created yet another layer of ice over the old one. But they all knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before they would all have to get out and fight.

Suddenly, Midoriya came up with a plan. " Todoroki, get ready to use your flames. Uraraka, Ashido, stay back for now. And Sakura, I think we both know if we want to survive, we're going to have to knock them all out until the Quirk wear out. I'll help with the escape first, but I'll come back and help you out afterward."

" I hate this plan." Sakura muttered under her breath. " But it's also the only one we have right now, ugh!"

The pinkette then got into a running start, her eyes glowing green as she did so. Next to her, Midoriya waited for Todoroki to finish melting the layers of ice before running out, and once Todoroki did, the pinkette charged forward.

She came out of the cave, and instantly, she drove her fist into the ground. The cause and effect of her actions took place automatically. The mountain they were on cracked and sway while thick dust rose from the cracks there created.

" Come on!" Midoriya's voice came from above to Sakura.

When the pinkette looked up though, she saw Midoriya along with Uraraka and Ashido crashed into Iida since the other students had been blown into the air due to Sakura's attack. Sakura was dazed for a moment when she saw that the once zombified students had return to normal that she couldn't react in time as Bakugou came plunging down toward her.

The blonde collided against the pinkette, sending her tumbling over the edge and down the mountain slope. Sakura only stopped when she crashed into a tree and stayed laying there for a few seconds, her eyes dizzy, and before long, she fainted on the spot.

* * *

" C-Cherry Blossom Of The Spring, are you okay?" All Might asked the bandaged girl. " I-I got you some of those basil flavored macarons you really like."

" All Might, do I look okay?" Sakura asked darkly.

The Pro hero said nothing as he inched out of the room nervously after placing the box of sweets on a counter. But before leaving, he turned back to Sakura. " You can stay here until Recovery Girl comes back and dismisses you. It'll only take half a hour or so. Get some rest."

Sakura sighed as she leaned her back against the bed's frame, finding it difficult to take a nap. Especially since the pinkette's head was bandaged up due to hitting her head from her fall, her lips were cut from the rocks scraping her, and her body was covered in scratches.

" You should've moved out of the way you slow shit." Bakugou accused from the doorway. " Now look at you, all covered up like a mummy."

Sakura's eyes twitched at the audacity of the boy. " Might I remind you that _you_ were the one who crashed into _me_? So don't tell me I'm slow, you dumb trash."

" Well, my bad." Bakugou snorted, rolling his eyes as he came over to the girl and sat on the bed she was sitting on. The blonde gave out a yawn before falling backward on his back so he was laying on the girl's leg. " You should feel guilty you know, you blew me in the air to begin with."

" I was trying to survive like I was suppose to, not go and get turned into a zombie." Sakura huffed as she felt Bakugou stretch himself on her legs. " And can you get off me? You're making my legs numb."

The boy gave no sign that he heard her, and instead closed his eyes as if he was tired. It almost felt normal, as if Bakugou acting casual with her was a daily routine now. But soon, Sakura remembered who exactly the blonde was and started to blush and squirm.

" Quit that Bubblegum and just stay still." Bakugou said, opening one eye to look at the girl before closing it once more. " The exercise was tiring today because of a troublesome guest student's Quirk, let me stay like this for awhile.

Sakura did as she was told as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear it wouldn't fall on Bakugou's face. A soft smile adorn her face as she saw the boy's relaxed expression, something that looked odd on Bakugou. But after awhile, Sakura got used to it and closed her own eyes, the soft smile still there.


	31. Series I: Thirty One

Now that the first semester was closing in, and summer break was just around the corner, Sakura's school attire had slightly changed. She swapped out her thigh high socks for spandex that only went an inch passed her skirt, and when she was on her way to school that day, she had tied up her hair due to the heat.

" Sakura-chan!" Uraraka greeted when Sakura came into the classroom, jumping on the pinkette's back and hugging her around the neck.

Sakura laughed at the brunette's antics, and once Uraraka had let go, the two made their way over to Sakura's desk to talk. However, Uraraka was soon forced to return to her own seat when Aizawa walked in to start class.

* * *

" There's only one week left before finals, I hope you all have been studying." Aizawa said, finishing up the lesson. " There will be both a written and practical component, so training both your mind and body will be in your best interest. That's all for today."

" I totally forgot about our finals!" Ashido laughed despite her words. " I didn't understand any of our lessons either."

" With the sports festival and internship, I forgot! I'm doomed!" Kaminari exclaimed, showing a more common reaction for someone in his situation.

Now that class had been dismissed, this time it was Sakura who headed over to Uraraka's desk. " Didn't you place fourteenth for the midterm? I'm sure you'll do fine for the final exams for this semester."

" Yeah, but I'm unprepared for the practical part." Uraraka sulked, her chin on her desk. Suddenly, she popped up and looked at Sakura with hopeful eyes. " Can you help me?"

The pinkette grinned as she nodded happily. " Sure, lets hold a training session with just the two of us over the weekend! Remember that park we went to during the sleepover? Meet me there on Saturday. And if we have time, we'll study for the written exam even though I'm sure we'll be fine."

" Oh, that's right, you came in third for the midterms, didn't you?" Midoriya asked, coming over after hearing something about a training session. " If you two don't mind, can I join you? It's kind of lonely just working out by yourself."

Agreeing on the plans, Sakura and the rest of the class got back to their seat after seeing Present Mic coming in to start their next class. As the Pro rambled on about the lesson, Sakura glanced sideways over to Todoroki, before casting her gaze over to Bakugou. But when she caught herself, she quickly turned away and stared at her desk, cheeks flushed.

" Shit." Sakura mumbled to herself.

* * *

Sakura stretched her arms up high as she got up to get lunch with Uraraka. But on the way, the two girls tagged along with Midoriya, Todoroki and Iida to form a group of five. Once all of them had their lunch, they made their way over to a table with Sakura and Todoroki sitting across from each other.

" I wonder what the practical exam is going to be." Midoriya thought out loud.

Iida glanced up from his dish and shrugged. " I've heard they change it up occasionally. But I'm sure it's nothing crazy. And the written exam should be easy since it'll mostly just be question about we learn in class."

" Easy you say, huh?" Uraraka question, her chewing coming to a sudden halt. " Sure, sure."

Sakura took a piece of meat between her chopsticks and took a bite out of it. " I really want to know more about the practical exam though. If its like the written, combing the exercises from previous lessons, I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake. But since this is UA, I'm doubting it."

" Just keep your physical condition healthy, that's one of the most important part." Todoroki assured looking at the pinkette. " Do you want some? I can't eat it all."

The boy held up his cold soba for Sakura to see what he was talking about. Nodding slightly since she was still in thoughts, Sakura didn't think much on Todoroki's actions as he placed some of his lunch into the pinkette's plate.

" Sakura, Uraraka and I are going to train together, do any of you want to-" Midoriya didn't get to finish his question as someone smacked his head with their elbow, almost causing the green haired boy's face to dive into his food. Rubbing the back of his head, Midoriya looked back to see who it was.

" Oh, sorry. Your head was so big that I accidentally bumped into it." Monoma mocked.

Sakura stood up from her seat and pointed her two chopsticks at the culprit responsible for the rude action. " Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

" I heard you and these three met the Hero Killer during your internship." Monoma pointed out to Sakura, jutting a thumb out at Midoriya, Iida, and as well as Todoroki. " It's just like the sports festival. You Class A just have to have all the attention. But it's not hope, it's from you guys causing trouble, am I right?"

Sakura didn't know how to reply to such comments without it ending with her strangling anybody. But the way Monoma kept going on about them as if they were all delinquents was wearing her patients thinner and thinner by the second.

"...What if we get caught up in your troubles? That's scary-" Monoma ranted on, but his speech was cut short after a orange head girl smacked him over the head, causing him to slowly crumble to the ground in robotic movements.

" That's not even funny, Monoma." The newcomer scolded. " Don't you know what happened to Iida? Sorry Class A, this guy is just a loser. Anyway, you guys were talking about the practical exam earlier, right? I heard from a senior that it'll have something to do with combat against robots."

Sakura titled her head to the side as she sat back down. " Huh, I guess not all Class B are morons. Thanks,...er...what was your name?"

" Itsuka Kendo, nice to meet you." The girl introduced with a warm smile. " I'm a big fan of Lady Tsunade, and it's great to know I'm in the same school as her student. I don't mean to be blunt, but I hope to fight against you someday."

" Sakura Haruno, and I look forward to that day." Sakura smiled back. " Again, thanks for the information."

As Kendo left dragging Monoma behind her, Sakura couldn't help but feel like she made a friend out of rivalry. But her thoughts soon wandered off to something else, and a minute later, she was placing a piece of meat in Todoroki's plate.

" Here Shouto, you need energy and strength for the final exams!" Sakura cheered. " And here's one for you, Iida! And one for Ochaco and another one for Midoriya!"

Iida took the piece of meat Sakura handed him and dipped it lightly in sauce before taking a bite out of it. " I guess the reason why everyone is trying so hard to pass is so they can go to the training camp."

" That's out to be fun." Uraraka added on. " Even though it'll mostly just be training, I'm sure it'd be fun since it's basically us as a class hanging out."

Soon, lunch was over and everyone was heading to their next class. Once all their afternoon classes all finished, Midoriya informed both Ashido and Kaminari of what they had learned from Kendo during lunch. Upon hearing the information, the two students was able to laugh and breathe smoothly again.

" That's good to hear!" Ashido laughed. " It'd be a cinch for me to melt them!"

" And it'd be a cinch for me to just shock them all!" Kaminari cheered himself, hands flying in the air to show his relief.

Suddenly, Bakugou appeared and shoved facts on them. " What are you two idiots going on about now? And you, you Shitty Nerd! You keep rubbing me the wrong way, but I'll let you know this, it's not going to being a half-ass win like the sports festival. I'll beat you with a huge difference and put you in your place!"

" I guess he's angry about Deku moving like him during the rescue race." Uraraka brought up to Sakura.

" I'll kill you and that Half-and-Half Bastard!" Bakugou finished up as he walked out of the classroom, slamming the door as he walked out.

Kirishima, who was rubbing the back of his, nervously laughed. " It's been awhile since Bakugou had been that intense. I guess the end of the first semester is bringing back the old fire in him."

" If you ask me, I don't think the old fire had ever went away to begin with." Sakura said softly, grabbing her own bag and making her way out of the classroom. Before leaving though, she turned back to Uraraka and Midoriya. " Sunday, nine o'clock."

* * *

On Saturday, Sakura brought out a picnic basket and filled it with six sandwiches, ten energy bar, and three water bottles. However, when she made it to the park at the expected time, she saw that it wasn't just going to be her, Uraraka, and Midoriya like she had expected.

" Iida! And Shouto?" Sakura titled her head slightly as she ran over to them. " You should've told me you were going to be here, I would've brought more snacks."

" It was kind of a last minute thing since I bumped into Midoriya when he was heading over to here. And Iida met us along the way." Todoroki explained, taking the basket from Sakura and placing it on the bench off to the side. " I hope you don't mind."

The pinkette waved his words off. " Of course not, the more the merrier. So what do you guys want to start with? A jog perhaps?"

" Sure, anything to get our blood pumping!" Uraraka cheered, jogging in place before taking off. " Who ever finishes three laps first gets to pick our next activity!"

Sakura called after the brunette as she raced after her. Soon, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki followed after them. However, for the first lap, with Uraraka quickly being over taken by Iida, none of them used their Quirk. That was until Sakura felt some cold air coming from underneath her, and when she looked down, she saw a sheet of Ice covering the ground.

The next thing she knew, Todoroki rushed passed her, using his ice to slide through the other teens smoothly. Next went Midoriya sweeping pass the pinkette, flashing a sheepish grin at Sakura as he got passed her.

" Hey!" Sakura called after them. Getting into the competitive mood, she pumped her Quirk into her legs, and when she did, her eyes glowed green. Soon, she had over taken Uraraka and was catching up to Midoriya who was only a few feet away from Todoroki.

" This isn't fair!" Uraraka could be heard saying. " My Quirk isn't meant for this kind of race!"

Sakura laughed at her friend's words, finding it rather funny since the brunette was the one to propose a race to begin with. However, her laugh died down as a blur of green rushed on a head, and instead, the pinkette was now cursing herself for letting her guard down.

However, with a bit more effort, she was able to reach Midoriya once more. Sakura begun to pour in more of her Quirk into her muscles, and after awhile, she built up enough power to run on a head.

But before passing Midoriya, she turned her head to face the said boy. " Bleh!"

The pinkette managed to be the third one in the lead, but her next obstacle was a bit more challenging to out run since he could use his ice to freeze her legs at any given time or send a jet of ice in her way. But considering his current mindset, it could also be a burst of flames.

And as expected, Sakura found her legs frozen to the ground within seconds of being near Todoroki. Groaning, she broke free and continued on with her running, but once Todoroki was in sight again, she stomp her foot, creating a fissure that tripped the boy, earning her some time to get in front of him.

" Don't worry Shouto, I'll win this race for you as well!" Sakura grinned cheekily, giving Todoroki a wink when he looked up at her. " Three down, one more to go!"

However, it only took a few more seconds before the pinkette found her whole lower body frozen as Todoroki skated passed her. And as if just to rub it in, he slightly looked back and shrugged his shoulders.

" Sorry Sakura, but it seem I'll have to be the one to win the race for us." Todoroki said, holding up a hand and waving.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, and before long, she broke free, causing the ice to go flying in all direction. She started to pump more of her Quirk in her legs and took off. Her only chance of getting passed Todoroki wasn't to engage in combat but to put as many distance between him and her.

Soon, Todoroki came into view, and as planned, Sakura increased the stream of her Quirk into her legs, but because she had get to unlock the seal so that she could count on the supply of her Quirk endlessly, she was starting to get tired.

 **" Remember the sports festival? Once you release Chakra, you'll be able to tap into that much power at any given time."** The voice tempt. " **Right now you're limited, but that can change."**

The pinkette continued on to push herself, and much to her satisfaction, she was able to get passed Todoroki. But continuing on to pour her Quirk to her legs was wearing her down so Sakura tried to decrease the amount of power she was using.

 **" Do you want another taste of it?"** The voice asked.

 _What do you mean?_ Sakura questioned, but she was answer with silence.

However, her pace had suddenly change, and not in the way she wanted. She felt a force control Chakra within her, increasing the flow of it until every step that Sakura took created small little cracks were she once was.

" Stop this or else!" Sakura threatened, not liking the feeling of her own Quirk being out of control. " Watch out Tenya!"

 **" If you unlock the seal, I'll disappear and you'll be in full control of your Quirk. Until then, I'll occasionally interfere with the amount of Chakra you're using, or perhaps the lack of it?"** Inner taunted.

The pinkette started to fight with herself, trying to cut off the flow as fast as she could. After many tries, she was finally able to succeed. But due to the abrupt break off, Sakura wasn't able to stop because of the momentum that had built up.

" To hell with you Inner!" Sakura cursed, using the name she had given the voice when she crashed into a tree.

Sakura heard a couple of rushing feet coming her way, and when she turned around rubbing her nose, her face was met by Todoroki's own face inches from her's. The boy had on a concentrated look as he tried to see if the pinkette's nose was bleeding.

" It's okay." Sakura winced, adverting her eyes incase she was to start blushing. " I can soothe the pain in just a few seconds."

She was cautious as she started to guid the flow of her Quirk into the palm of her hands, fearing that she would suddenly start getting another burst of unneeded power. She was both pleased as well as worried when her Quirk stayed in her control. After awhile, both Uraraka and Midoriya reached them.

Uraraka curiously stared at the pinkette. " What's wrong Sakura-chan? Did you get hurt."

Sakura was quick to wave her hands in front of her and give the brunette a strain smile. " It's nothing to worry about. Really. Just a passing _voice._ "

Catching onto the way Sakura emphasized the word voice, Midoriya put on a thinking look. Iida placed a hand on the pinkette's shoulders and looked down at her with a concern expression.

Iida's hand retreated back to his side as he spoke his mind. " Well, if the race is over, lets continue on to our next activity. So what would you like to do Sakura, I mean since you were the first to finish the three laps."

" Actually, I think I'm going to spend the time reflecting on myself. You can pick, I'll sit this one out." Sakura said as she started to walk away slowly. " There's snack in the basket if you guys want any. If I don't show up after awhile, just leave without me."

The pinkette wasn't aware of where exactly she was going, she just wanted to be alone. She had experience it again. If her Quirk was to continue on acting up, this was going to become a problem. And the only way to solve it was to gain the seal as soon as possible.

 **" I was just showing you the potential."** Inner defended. **" Don't worry, I'm on your side. I am you and you are me."**

 _You said you'll disappear once I unlock the seal right?_ Sakura gritted. _Why is that?_

 **" That's because I'll take on the form of the seal. I'll become the endless supply of Chakra. But to get there will take both mental strength and a strong will."** Inner explained smoothly. **" So lets try releasing again, shall we?"**

With a sort of glint in her eye, Sakura directed her Quirk into her sole and started to walk on a tree. The pinkette went as far as she could and sat down on the sturdies branch. The wind weaved through her hair, and when she breathed in, she felt calmer and refreshed.

For the rest of the day, she had her eyes closed and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She didn't even noticed the sun setting or the sky darkening. But despite all her effort, she had yet to reach her goal. Sakura only opened her eyes once more when she heard a familiar voice calling her from down below.

Gracefully, the pinkette jumped down from her brach and landed in front of no other then Todoroki who had her basket in his hand. The boy removed his jacket and hung it on Sakura's shoulders.

" It's cold, and you've been up there for most of the day." Todoroki pointed out softly. " It's dark, I'll take you home."

After telling the boy her address, Sakura leaned into Todoroki and Todoroki wrapped a hand around the girl's shoulders. The pinkette yawned, but despite her tired state, she felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest.

" Shouto, I like someone." Sakura mumbled without thinking. " But I can't tell them because I'm scared. I'm scared they'll take on the idea that I don't take on the role of a future hero seriously. And maybe they'd be right, why would I like someone if I was really dedicated to hero work?"

" No one will think that. It's normal." Todoroki said, and for some reason, his eyes fell to the ground. " You don't seem like the time to be too shy to confess, what else is keeping you from doing so?"

" I'm not scare of confessing. I would shout out to the world if I wanted to about who I like with no blush." Sakura yawned. " But what I am scared of is rejection. I'm scared that I'm the only who feels the same way and that they won't return my feelings."

Todoroki glanced at the girl by his side and his eyes softened. " Close your eyes and don't say anything anymore. I don't want you to spill the name of the person you like without really wanting to."

" Kay." Sakura whispered, and although her legs kept on walking, she wasn't aware of the buildings around her. And she didn't really care cause she trusted Todoroki to get her home even if she was half asleep. " Thank you."

* * *

She didn't know how long she had drifted off, but when Todoroki shook her awake so that she could unlock her doors, it took Sakura awhile for her to figure where exactly she was. And when she got ahold of herself and unlock her door, she turned to Todoroki after stepping inside.

" Thanks again, Shouto." Sakura smiled, her eyes half-lidded. " Have a safe trip back home, and if you don't mind, say hi to your father for me."

" Sure, but there's no promise that it's going to come out nice." Todoroki's lips slightly tugged up in a smile. " Good night, Sakura, see you tomorrow."

The pinkette leaned on her door frame as she watched Todoroki's retreating from. " Night Shouto."

However, as if remembering something, Todoroki suddenly turned back, causing Sakura to raise her eye brow in curiosity. She didn'tneed to wait long for explanation when Todoroki opened his mouth to talk.

" About the person you like, I think it's best if you take the risk and express yourself." Todoroki said, and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded pinkette behind.

" W-what?!" Sakura shriek, falling into a crouch and clutching her hair. Her mind was roaring about what Todoroki had said, and soon, memories of what she had said on the way back to her house flood her thoughts. " What the hell?!"

The pinkette quickly closed her door and leaned against it, sliding down as the embarrassment took over. She buried her face into her hands and screamed. Her voice echoed in the house, and even when she stopped screaming, she could still hear the fading shout.

Sakura leaned her head against the door and looked up at her ceiling. " They're both going to be the end of me."

* * *

During the next three days, the written exam took place. It was easy enough for Sakura that she finished before the set time. However, the final exmas werent the only thing worrying Sakura though.

Her eyes would occasionally meet Todoroki's and images of what happened Sunday night would once again come crashing down on her, causing her face to heat up. But despite how flustered she was, it didn't seem like she had anything to worry about since Todoroki would only stare curiously at her whenever she would frantically turn away.

Finally, the day of the practical exam took place. After Sakura and along with the rest of her classmates finished changing into their hero costumes, they all met up at Center Plaza to receive the instruction of what they were going to be doing for the last part of the final exam.

But everyone was pretty confident since they all believe that they would be going up against robots like in the entrance exam. But some of their hopes were shttered when they all saw their teachers waiting for them, including Midnight and Snipe.

" W-what's up with all the teachers?" Kirishima asked Sakura who was trying to figure out why herself.

Suddenly, Principal Nezu popped out from Aizawa's scarf, causing the pinkette to jump back in surprise. The rat-like creature jumped down from Aizawa's shoulders and stood before the students with a smile.

" The practical exam this year won't be robots like you've thought." Principal Nezu said. " This time, we'll be focussing more on one-on-one combat. So, in conclusion, you'll form teams to go up against one of your teachers. Don't worry though, the teachers will all have some weight on them as a handicap."

Sakura's eyes widened as she scanned the group of teachers. Midnight gave the pinkette a playful wink and Present Mic gave her a somewhat evil grin. She felt a bead of sweat run down her neck at the thought of having to go up against Pros who were smiling as if they were nothing to worry about.

" Your groups have already been decided, as well as they teacher assigned to them." Nezu went on. " You are to either capture your teacher with these handcuffs or escape through the gate. The teams are as the following."

" Team one, Haruno, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu." Aizawa said, holding up his capture weapon and flashing a deadly grin. " And you three will be up against me."

When everyone else was given the name of their partner and the teacher they would be up against, everyone but Cementoss, Kirishima, and Sato went over to the waiting building since they were going to the first battle.

" L-lets work hard!" Yaoyorozu said as they made their way over to the monitor room, causing Sakura to nod and Todoroki to glance at the black haired girl.

" I'm going to get some water." Sakura mumbled, turning a corner and going over to a vending machine. After getting her drink, she sat down on the ground, her mind deep in thoughts of how her team's match up against Aizawa would go.

She didn't know how long she had stayed on the ground, but when she heard someone else also getting a drink, Sakura looked up to see Aizawa with a bottle of juice in his hand. Quickly, the pinkette got up and smiled nervously.

" Team Sato and Kirishima are out of commission. Students have lost round one." Someone informed over the intercom.

Sakura looked up at where the voice had came from in surprise. And when she looked over at Aizawa once more, he gave her one of his grin while he was adjusting his capture weapon around his neck.

" One team down, nine more to go." Aizawa smirked, and Sakura gulped as her eyebrows scrunched up.


	32. Series I: Thirty Two

Taking her bottle of water along with her, Sakura made her way over to the monitor room where Uraraka and Midoriya were at with some of their other classmates. Standing next to Uraraka, the pinkette observed the next battle which was Asui and Tokoyami against Ectoplasm.

The instant the match started, Ectoplasm created several clones of himself and started to attack the students with them. However, Tokoyami acted quickly by using Dark Shadow to throw his partner to a wall as an escape. While in mid-air, Asui used her tongue to get Tokoyami out of the battle.

" That was a great escape plan." Sakura mused, a hand propped under her chin.

" Communication skills." Recover Girl said, coming out from where she had finish healing Kirishima and Sato. " It's a skill that will come in handy once a Pro Hero."

Midoriya turned to the elder Pro with a question. " About the practical, everyone was matched up with teachers according to weaknesses and skills on purpose, right? I wonder what kind of trouble Ectoplasm will bring that Asui and Tokoyami will have trouble dealing with."

" Look closer." Recovery Girl advised, sitting on her chair. " It's actually a really bad match up for Fumikage Tokoyami."

" How is that?" Uraraka asked the pinkette next to her.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, having no idea herself. Currently, Tokoyami and Asui were both avoiding a fight and instead were planning on escaping through the gate. However, the real Ectoplasm stood at the exit, producing even more clones.

Sakura then begun to see the pattern and weakness of Tokoyami's style. Because of the amount of opponents he was going up against, he was only focussing on the ones in front of him, and only using Dark Shadow as a weapon. Because of that, his body was left vulnerable to any other attacks.

" But since Tsu is there, she's covering for him, right?" Uraraka conclude when Asui protected Tokoyami from an attack. " They make a good team."

" But there's too many clones, they just keep coming." Midoriya mumbled with a thinking look.

Midoriya was right, the clones were advancing on Tokoyami and Asui, cornering them. But once again, Tokoyami and Asui resulted to their escape plan and was able to jump onto a different level of the building.

" Tokoyami's Quirk attacks his enemies so that his body is far from the actual fight. But when someone invades his range, that's when he started getting trouble." Recovery Girl informed. " But Tsuyu Asui is a student with no clear weakness. She's the perfect pillar of support."

Suddenly, Just as Asui and Tokoyami too down the twenty-eighth clone, Ectoplasm started to produce yet another clone. But this one was different, it wasn't the usual size that he had created before. Finally, the new being took the form of a giant Ectoplasm.

" Giant Bite Detention." Ectoplasm declared, and as if on cue, the large clone roared at the presented students.

" Ah, with a clone that big, Ectoplasm won't be able to produce anymore clones, right?" Sakura asked Recovery Girl.

Recovery Girl nodded in answer. " Correct. But as long as he has his eyes on his targets, the large clone is all that he really need for this battle."

Sakura's eyes widened when she saw the clone gnashed his teeth at Tokoyami and Asui, destroying the balcony they were on. And due to the rise of dust, those in the monitor room wasn't able to see if Asui and Tokoyami had escape on time.

Finally, the dust cleared and Asui and Tokoyami could be seen caged in the body of the large clone. But even if trapped, Tokoyami was able to command Dark Shadow to get through the gate at least in their place.

But because of the Hero blocking the exit, Dark Shadow had to go up against Ectoplasm one-on-one combat. However, Sakura's eyes went over to where Tokoyami and Asui was, and when she saw Asui gurgling up something, she squinted her eyes to see what it was.

" Tsu has the handcuffs!" The pinkette exclaimed in excitement.

Dark Shadow now had the handcuffs tightly in his hands, and trying not to let his opponent know, it pulled back a fist as if getting ready for a punch. However, instead of delivering an attack, Dark Shadow clasped the handcuffs on the leg Ectoplasm had raised for a kick.

" Good job. Team Asui and Tokoyami pass. Students won the second round." Principal Nezu said over the intercom. " Lets now start the third match with Iida and Ojiro against Power Loader."

" They did it!" Uraraka cheered, clasping her hands with Sakura and jumping up and down. " Look, it's Iida!"

The pinkette turned her head back to the screen and gave and involuntary wince as the ground exploded from Power Loader's handy work. It was clear that this time the students were at a disadvantage given the topography.

Iida and Ojiro stood in place with a stance, trying to determine were their opponent was at. Suddenly, Ojiro flicked a rock at the gate's direction and the pitfalls were activated instantly.

" They don't know where their opponent will attack or when since he's underground, and they can't go for a clear run to the gate either because of the pitfalls." Midoriya muttered. " This match up is a bit tricky given that their surrounding is obviously favoring Power Loader."

Sakura nodded along to the reasoning. When she looked up at the screen once more, she saw that Ojiro was now on Iida's back, causing her to blink a couple of time. Using Recipro Burst, Iida dashed across the field, fast enough that the ground didn't break under him while he was on top of that section.

" Ah, look out!" Uraraka cried when a pitfall had formed right in front of the students before that had even reached that part.

But from the way Iida jumped and Ojiro wrapped his tail around Iida's leg, there was nothing to worry about. Iida used a different version of Recipro Burst called Recipro Extend and flung his partner forward and across the gate.

Sakura's smiled widely as she turned to Midoriya and Uraraka. " They passed!"

" Team Iida and Ojiro pass. Students have won the third round." Nezu announced as usual after a match. " On to the next set up with Team Haruno, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu against Eraser Head."

" Good luck Sakura!" Midoriya called after the pinkette as she ran out of the monitor room to meet up with her team.

" You can do it Sakura-chan." Uraraka encouraged with a wide smile.

Sakura held up a hand and waved, a smile on her face. Knowing that her team would already be at where the arena they were assigned, she made her way over to there and was proven right when Yaoyorozu and Todoroki was waiting for her. Todoroki looked up and motioned for the pinkette to stay close.

Over the intercom, Principal Nezu started the practical exam for them. " Team students, ready and go!"

Sakura grabbed Todoroki's hand and ran over to an alley way so that Aizawa couldn't spot them easily. " Come on you guys, lets do our best."

" R-right!" Yaoyorozu replied almost nervously.

" Yaoyorozu, I don't care what you make, but create small objects so that we'll know if Mr. Aizawa is near by." Todoroki ordered, taking the lead. " When your creation suddenly stop working, we'll know right away that our enemy is close."

They made it to the end of an alley way, but when Sakura turned to Yaoyorozu to see how she was doing, the black haired girl had yet to create anything. She reached for Yaoyorozu's shoulders but was stopped mid-way when Todoroki turned to them.

" What's wrong?" Todoroki asked Yaoyorozu. " Hurry up and make something so we'll have an idea if Mr. Aizawa is near by."

" I'll scout the area above and if I happen to see him, I'll engage in combat so that Momo can escape through the gate." Sakura informed, and after receiving a nod from Todoroki, the pinkette jumped up and landed on the roof of a house.

Sakura ran on top of rooftops after rooftops, but she had yet to spot any form of Aizawa. But in advance the pinkette guided a proportion of her Quirk throughout her body so that she could right away engage in combat if Aizawa was to suddenly show up, her eyes glowing a soft green.

" Sakura!" Todoroki's voice came from the pinkette's right.

Instantly Sakura changed her course and instead ran to where Todoroki's voice had came from. She saw Aizawa hanging from his capture weapon, and positioned herself as she went flying the Pro's way, one of her leg raised. She swiped at Aizawa's side, sending him crashing to the ground.

Just as Aizawa stood up, Todoroki's arm was suddenly covered in frost. But then, the frost quickly fell off and when Todoroki looked up in surprise, Aizawa kicked the boy before covering him with his capture weapon and hanging him from the wires above.

" Momo, run!" Sakura shouted as she got into a stance.

Against Aizawa, the pinkette knew she couldn't rely on her Quirk. While Sakura calculate her possible attacks, Aizawa threw a couple dozens of caltrops under Todoroki as a counter measure.

" What are you, a ninja?" Todoroki asked coldly. " Coming up with such an unpleasant countermeasure."

" I'm not like the hero killer." Aizawa said, taking out his eye drop and using it. But all the while, his eyes were watching Sakura from the corner of his eyes. " I know different ways on how to intercept you guys."

Deciding on her decision, Sakura launched a punch, her eyes glowing green. But Aizawa quickly picked up on her action and erased her ability as he formed an x with his hands in front of his chest. Sakura's fist landed on his arms and as soon as it had landed, she pulled back her other fist.

This time she aimed for Aizawa's jaw, and to her pleasure, her attack had landed. From there, she launched attacks after another, forcing her opponent into a corner from her endless combat and blades.

Suddenly, her eyes started to glow green once more. She raised her hand high and clenched it tightly. Before long, she landed a punch on Aizawa's abdomen, but instad of letting him being blown back, she drove her fist to the ground so that Aizawa collide against the cement.

" After your battle with Nomu, your time limit had decreased, hadn't it?" Sakura asked, giving a half-ass grin.

She quickly guided the flow of her Quirk to her legs and jumped up to where Todoroki was being hung before guiding a stream of Chakra to her soles. However, she wasn't able to cut him loose as one of her own blade was sent flying her way, forcing her to jump down to avoid getting graze.

" Huh, I think I'll start picking up blade throwing as a hobby." Aizawa said, flipping a blade in the air and catching it by one of its end and sending it zooming in Sakura's way.

With her only decision now being running away, Sakura did just that. She needed to regroup with Yaoyorozu, and only then would they stand a chance since Aizawa could only erase one of their Quick at a time.

" Not so fast." Aizawa called after the pinkette, and before Sakura knew it, one of her arm was wrapped in Aizawa's capture weapon to stop her from going any farther away.

" Sakura!" Todoroki shouted out in alarm.

Growling under her breath, Sakura pulled back one of her leg. But instead of delivering a kick, she used her raised leg as a base while she spun around with her elbow out. Flipping in the air while using Aizawa as a sort of weight, the pinkette was able to land on the rooftop next to Aizawa's own.

Using the acrobatics she had learned over the year, Sakura managed to land on the roof Aizawa was on. However, Aizawa was now more focus on stopping Yaoyorozu from reaching the escape gate.

With experience, the hero out ran Sakura, and before long, he used his capture weapon on Yaoyorozu instead. Then, out of nowhere, Sakura jumped down from a rooftop, one of her blade in her hand. The pinkette released the hold Aizawa had on Yaoyorozu with a sharp swipe and landed near her partner.

" I don't know what has gotten into you." Sakura told Yaoyorozu, eyes on her enemy. " You've been out of it lately. But snap out of it! I need you right now."

" S-sorry." Yaoyorozu apologized automatically. " Please follow me!"

As Yaoyorozu started to run back to where Todoroki was, Sakura followed close by. She protected her partner from any attacks from Aizawa which included blades and the pro's capture weapon. Suddenly, they came to a halt.

" T-Todoroki!" Yaoyorozu shouted. " Sorry I couldn't escape but-"

" Watch out, Mr. Aizawa is catching up!" Todoroki interrupted, causing Yaoyorozu and Sakura to look back.

When Sakura turned to Yaoyorozu, the blacked haired girl seemed to be trapped in her own mind. It was clear from the way Yaoyorozu took a step back and looked between Todoroki and Aizawa that she was over thinking what she should do.

" Take care of Mr. Aizawa, I'll take Shouto down!" Sakura informed, helping the taller girl out. " After that, we'll buy some time and listen to your plan."

Yaoyorozu nodded, happy that they were now on a clear path on what to do. The black haired girl then started to create more of her dolls. " Cover your eyes, Sakura, Todoroki!"

By now, Sakura was able to get Todoroki down. And just when Aizawa was right above Yaoyorozu, he swiped at the dolls the girl had thrown at him, revealing flash grenades in them. Todoroki quickly undid the cloth around his hands and blocked Sakura's view of the flashed by burying her head into his chest.

" Come on, I have an operation to take down Mr. Aizawa!" Yaoyorozu called out.

As they started to run away, Aizawa trailed them from behind on the wires. But while running, Yaoyorozu informed her partners of what she had remembered after the USJ incident, about how Aizawa's eyes had become unstable.

" Yeah, Sakura already used that to her advantage." Todoroki said, checking to see if he could use his ice or fire again.

" Okay, how many times had he used his eye drop during this whole match?" Yaoyorozu asked Sakura since the pinkette was the only one currently who had engaged in combat with their opponent.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in thoughts. " About one time. And it was after capturing Shouto so that means it's been awhile and he'll probably have to use it again."

" I'm going to catch you!" Aizawa shouted, and as if on cue, one end of his capture weapon went flying Sakura's way. " Gotcha!"

However, at the same time, frost begun to show up on Todoroki's arm once more. The hybrid boy moved in front of Sakura and iced started to form on the ground as he let out a frosty breath. The ice then begun to build up into the giant of wall like the one during the sports festival, creating a sort of dividing between the students and their teacher.

" Now that there's a wall between us, we're able to use or Quirks again." Todoroki said, his left side burst into flames to balance the use of his ice Quirk.

Sakura flashed her eyes green before flashing it blue. " Thanks, Shouto. What are you making there Momo?"

But when the pinkette saw what exactly the taller girl was doing, she quickly moved in front of her so that Todoroki couldn't see. After awhile, Yaoyoyozu finished and held up a scarf similar to Aizawa's own.

" Yes, but I don't exactly what it's made of so I made my own version with another material in it as well." Yaoyorozu replied. " The exam isn't just about escaping or capturing Mr. Aizawa, we also need to keep the amount of damage to a minimum. Here's my plan..."

* * *

Sakura propped her hand under her chin in a thinking position as she imagined how Yaoyorozu's plan would go in her mind. " I think it'll work. There's no visible flaw as long as we follow each other's actions closely and move on cue."

" Then lets get into position." Todoroki said, giving one last glance at the catapult Yaoyorozu had created and getting under a black cloth.

Sakura let out a yawned before getting into a stance. Her part of the plan was simple. She guided the flow of her Quirk to the muscles in her arm as she pulled it back. Her fingers were clenched tightly as her eyes started to grow their eerie green.

" Now!" Yaoyorozu signaled as she too, got under a black cloth

Instantly, Sakura's fist collided against the wall of ice Todoroki had made. The ices cracked a bit before it shattered completely. From the impact, pieces of ice went flying toward Aizawa's way, distracting him while Todoroki and Yaoyorozu got into their position.

The next part of Sakura's job was to drive Aizawa to where Todoroki and Yaoyorozu was hiding. So while Aizawa still dodging the pieces of ice, Sakura ran at him and launched herself into the air with her leg getting ready to swipe.

However, Aizawa used his Quirk to erase the pinkette's own Quick so that even if the attack did landed, he wasn't severely hurt. Finally, Sakura got Aizawa to where she needed him to be.

" Go!" Sakura shouted as she jumped back to a safe distance.

After given the signal, Yaoyorozu stepped out and launched the catapult. The scarf the black haired girl created surrounded Aizawa, but it didn't bind him just yet. Soon after, Todoroki sent a burst of flames at Aizawa's way. He wasn't trying to hit his teacher directly, just heat up the cloth like Yaoyorozu told him to.

The scarf, with nitinol alloy woven into its material, stiffened as it was heated up and returned to it's original shape. The cloth wrapped around Aizawa, binding him in an instant so he couldn't escape. Quickly, Sakura took out the handcuffs in her pouch and clasped it around Aizawa's wrist.

" Team Haruno, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu pass! Students have won the fourth round!" Principal Nezu declared. " On to the next battle, shall we?"


	33. Series I: Thirty Three

By the time Sakura and her team got back to the monitor room, Uraraka's and Aoyama's match had already begun. The current match went along the line of the students hanging on to a railing as Thirteen tries to suck them in with Black Hole.

" Thirteen caught them by surprise just as they were about to escape." Midoriya informed the pinkette when he saw her.

Suddenly, Aoyama turned to Uraraka and said something that caused the brunette to let go of the railing with a flustered look. Surprised, Thirteen capped Black Hole as Uraraka went flying her way. However, Uraraka was quick to take advantage of the situation and pin Thirteen down.

" Whee!" Aoyama cheered as he used his Quirk to reach his partner and Thirteen. Once there, he pinned down Thirteen's other arm. "...And catch!"

Quickly, Uraraka took out the handcuffs and clasped it on Thirteen's hand, winning the fifth match. As if on cue, Principal's Nezu voice rang out through the arena and the monitor room, declaring the student's official win.

" They passed!" Midoriya smiled and Sakura nodded to confirm it.

" I just wonder what Aoyama -ribbit- told Uraraka for her to let go." Asui stated, a finger on her chin as usual. " Oh look, -ribbit- Kaminari's and Mina's match is starting."

Sakura looked up at the screen to see that both Kaminari and Ashido were running around looking for their opponent. The pinkette grew interested after hearing that Principal Nezu was going up against them, curious on how the rat-like creature fought and what his style of fighting was.

" Yeah, me too." Midoriya said as if reading Sakura's mind. " He lacks the physical form for combat so perhaps he's not going to go for the close-combat range."

Suddenly, the screen started to shake and the arena's building started to crumble. Sakura's eyes widened when she looked at one of the smaller screen and saw their Principal was somewhat still sophisticated while handling a machine.

" Humans have done a bunch of experiments on Nezu in the past so he can't but let out his true self in these kind of situations." Recover Girl informed with an amused smile on her face.

" R-right." Sakura mumbled, staring in disbelief as Nezu cackled while sipping his drink. " Their time is running out, but looking at the situation from here, I don't think Mina and Kaminari stand a chance as long as Principal Nezu had control over that machine."

Suddenly, the door to the monitor room opened, and when the pinkette turned to see who it was, she saw Bakugou's eyes glancing over her way before he turned to leave before even entering. Sakura ran after him with out hesitation, and when she saw his retreating back, she ran in front of him.

" What's wrong?" Sakura asked. " You didn't even come into the monitor room for a few seconds."

" I was looking for you." Bakugou scoffed. " Good job on your match. When mine against All Might comes, you better watch as well."

Sakura grabbed ahold of the blonde's hand and pulled him outside for some fresh air. When they were outdoors, Bakugou leaned against the building's wall as he watched the pinkette breathed in as she laid on the grass.

" Come here." Sakura said, patting on the spot beside her. " Come on Firecracker, don't be so stiff. Lets talk."

Bakugou walked over, but be didn't lay down and instead just sat with his hands behind him to prop him up. " I hate small talk. But because i'm bored, I'll bless you with my presence."

Sakura laughed as she rolled over onto her stomach. She played with her hair while rambling on, to which Bakugou only stayed silent and listened. " You know, in some way, you're kind of like All Might. You smile in the face of danger, the only difference is that your smile comes off more of a challenge."

" I don't smile." Bakugou scowled. " I flash smirks and grins, but I don't smile."

" Well then, I guess I'll have to force a smile out of you one of these days." Sakura grinned, turning around once more and laying on her back with her head on Bakugou's lap. " But tell me this Firecracker. Why don't you call me by my name? Even my last name would be okay."

Bakugou stared at the girl on his lap looking up at him expectingly. He frowned and flicked her nose, causing the pinkette to swat his hands away. Bakugou then let out a sigh as he looked away.

" You're shitty questions are tiresome." Bakugou said, not looking at the pinkette. " Just shut up and be quiet."

" Avoiding the question Firecracker? That isn't like you. Is it perhaps you fell for me?" Sakura teased in a sing song voice. After realizing what she said, the pinkette quickly got up, her body stiff. She hid behind her hair, using it as a curtain as she took backward steps. " I-I have to go!"

After a few steps, the pinkette turned around and ran in to the building with a flushing face, leaving a blank Bakugou. The blonde got up after Sakura was out of sight and started to walk inside as well.

" You're so fucking weird." Bakugou stated even though the girl wasn't near him anymore. The boy looked back at where he was sitting minutes before, but turned back and never looked back again. He hated her questions because they confused him. " How the hell should I know why it's more natural to call you Bubblegum then Haruno?"

* * *

At the moment, Sakura was running and cursing herself for her stupidity. Even if it was just a joke, accusing Bakugou of falling for her and then running away would be a huge sign of her feelings. And it didn't help that she was afraid of rejection.

Suddenly, the pinkette crashed into someone, sending both of them to the ground. Quickly getting up, Sakura saw Uraraka on the ground as well. " Ah, sorry Ochaco. I didn't see you, my bad."

" I'm fine, what about you? You look a bit red, do you have a fever?" Uraraka asked as Sakura help her up.

" I-I'm fine!" Sakura said, coming out louder then she wanted. Wanting to get the attention off her, Sakura quickly changed the subject. " C-congrats on passing by the way! So what did Aoyama say to you that caused you to let go the the railings?"

It took a second for Uraraka to understand what Sakura was talking about, but once she did, the brunette flushed. " N-nothing! It's not like that! W-well then, lets see how Mina and Kaminari are doing, their time is bound to be close to running out by now."

With an awkward silence around them, the two girls made their way into the monitor room, avoiding eye contact. However, when they got into the room, the announcement for sixth match was released.

" Team Ashido and Kaminari failed! How sad! Teachers have won the sixth match!" The Principal announced, a bit of his personality from his recent match still left over. " Now on to the next battle with Jiro and Koda against Present Mic!"

" Oh no, they didn't pass." Uraraka said. " Doesn't that mean they won't come with us to the summer training camp?"

" Yeah. Congrats on your match." Midoriya said with a smile.

Sakura raised a curious eyebrow when the brunette took a step back, her ears red. Looking between the flustered Uraraka and the oblivious Midoriya, the pinkette shrugged her shoulders and returned to looking at the screen. This time, the arena took on a forest feature and Present Mic was stationed right in front of the escape gate.

" This match up is understandable. Both Jiro and Koda have sound related Quirks, but what are they going to do with an oppenent who has a Quirk that drowns out sound?" Midoriya analyzed.

Suddenly, Present Mic opened his mouth and released a screeched that stopped both Jiro and Koda in their tracks. After the screeched dies down, Jiro turned to Koda and asked him to do something that caused the boy to shook his head.

" Koda can talk to animals, but with the loud screeches Present Mic can create, they're at a large disadvantage." Sakura mused with a thinking look.

Meanwhile in front of the gate, Present Mic whistled a tune. But after a while and no students have yet to how up, he sucked in a deep breath and called out to Koda and Jiro in a deafening level of sound.

" Even though -ribbit- I can't hear him, I can -ribbit- feel the vibration." Asui commented, lightly touching her ears.

One the other hand, Jiro seemed to have found a ant and held it up to her partner. And from the way Koda hid behind a tree, it was blear the boy was afraid of bugs. Jiro then let out a deep breath as she plugged her Earphone Jack into her boots and tried to cancel out Present Mic's noise.

However, it only took a few seconds before Present Mic returned with an even louder sound. Sakura slightly frowned as she noticed how Jiro's ears were slightly dripping with blood.

" Isn't this going a bit far? Kyoka's ear are bleeding." Sakura said, clenching her fist. " I swear, if this ends bad, I'm going to hunt down Present Mic and personally scream in his ear to see how he likes it."

" Look Sakura-chan, Koda's talking to the bugs." Uraraka pointed out. " I didn't even know he could talk until now."

Sakura's eyes brightened when she saw the bugs that Koda was previously talking to attack Present Mic from the ground where sound had a hard time traveling to. But when she saw the tiny legs and millions of eyes, she froze.

" I-I think I'm going to throw up." Sakura said, holding her stomach as she saw the bugs crawl on Present Mic's leg and continue on. " Even for a Pro that's gotta be harsh."

As Jiro and Koda ran out through the escape gate and passed the fallen Present Mic, Principal Nezu declared the students as the winners. Soon after the declaration of victory to the students, the next match between Shoji and Hagakure against Snipe begun.

" Well, I'm out for now." Sakura said, making her way out of the room. However, just when she reached the door, she turned back. " Oh, and Deku? I'll be watching your battle against All Might, and I just want to say I expect nothing less then a win. Plus Ultra?"

" Plus Ultra." Midoriya confirmed with a wide smile.

Sakura exited the room and made her way to a waiting room. And when she found one, she entered and closed the door behind her. Tiredly, she plopped onto a couch and curled up into a ball, her knees to her chest. Slowly, her eyes started to close and before she knew it, she fell asleep.

* * *

" Sakura-chan!" Uraraka called. " Come on, Deku and Bakugou's match against All Might is starting!"

The pinkette stood up and stretched while trying to muffle a yawn. She allowed herself to be led to the monitor room, and when she and Uraraka got there, Sakura could see that Todoroki, Asui and along with Iida was also there. And of course Recover Girl.

" Did I miss much?" Sakura asked groggily. " Did anyone else pass?"

" Yeah, Mineta passed against Midnight, but Sero failed to succeed." Iida informed. " And Hagakure and Shoji also passed."

Sakura reached for her toes before coming up and reaching for the ceiling to get the sleep and numbness out. " I'm glad majority of the class is going. It's just too bad those who failed can't come with us to the training camp thought, we all worked hard."

The pinkette then looked up at the screen and couldn't help but frown. She could detect a change in Bakugou's eyes. It was no longer the arrogant gaze that she was use to, but instead a look of sheer anger toward Midoriya.

" It looks like -ribbit- Midoriya is pleading for Bakugou -ribbit- to escape instead of fight." Asui pointed out.

" At the rate they're going, it's only a matter of time before All Might over takes them." Todoroki nodded toward the way Bakugou refused to hear out Midoriya.

Sakura sighed and shifted her weight on one leg as she crossed her arms. " Firecracker was just fine the last time I saw him. Perhaps he's angry because of how much Deku had improved during the internship while he was with Best Jeanist fighting against a comb."

" Ah! Bakugou just smacked Deku!" Uraraka exclaimed. " This is a really bad match up on the students' part."

" That's exactly why they were matched up." Recover Girl said. " We were hoping that by going up against All Might, they would be so overwhelmed that they'll have no choice but to work together if they want to go to the training camp."

Asui lifted a finger to her chin in a thinking position. " I'm curious -ribbit- if Midoriya and Bakugou was to get along, who would be the ones going up against All Might?"

" Haruno and Midoriya." Recover Girl answer smoothly. " Both possess a strength Quirk of some sort, not to mention the background story."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders when Uraraka turned to her with a questioning look. But the pinkette knew the exact backstory Recovery Girl was talking about. With Sakura and Midoriya both having been trained under All Might, and Midoriya with One For All, and Sakura with a unique Quirk, the battle would have been complicated and long.

Turning her attention back on the screen, Sakura almost jumped back in shock when she saw a force of power being aimed at Midoriya and Bakugou. The force created by All Might tore at the building, causing a massive path of destruction.

" All Might isn't going to go easy on them is he?" Uraraka asked as the said Pro advanced on Midoriya and Bakugou. " That's tough."

Sakura sighed once more when Bakugou launched a Stun Grenade at All Might only to get grabbed by the Pro in the face. However, the blonde counter attacked even though he was being held, forcing All Might to let him go.

" One wants to run and the other wants to fight." Todoroki stated. " All Might is undoubtedly better, and their teamwork show no promise."

" Midoriya probably admire All Might too much that he thinks All Might's a sort of god." Iida added on. " Meanwhile Bakugou is a whole different story."

" Firecracker admires All Might too, maybe even as much as Deku." Sakura announced. " The only difference is that Firecracker is more confident. Not to mention that he belives a hero is someone who wins."

Asui winced when Bakugou was slammed to the ground. " Yeah, but in this case, the best option -ribbit- is to run."

Sakura watched as Bakugou got up trembling, but her eyes widened when she saw Midoriya landing a punch on the blonde before All Might could. The green haired boy shouted at Bakugou about something he had said, but due to not being able to hear them, Sakura could only burn with questions about what was going on.

With All Might also shock, Midoriya quickly grabbed his partner and made a run for it. However, Bakugou punched Midoriya and slammed his fist on the wall, shouting words that Sakura couldn't hear.

Suddenly, the door to the monitor room opened and when Sakura turned to see who it was, Principal Nezu was making his way over to her with a package in his arms. He was humming happily as he handed the package to the pinkette.

" This is from Tsunade." Nezu said. " If you don't mind, she would like to talk with you over the phone right now. She said she had something to explain."

" Right, I'll see you guys later." Sakura waved at her friends as she made her way out of the room along with the Principal who was humming a happy tune. " So, I take it You and Lady Tsunade are close considering you guys talk on the phone?"

" Normally we don't allow phone calls or interruptions during classes, but Tsunade's a close friend of mine since she was one of the doctor who had helped me during my time as a horrific experiment. Not to mention she demanded to talk with you." Nezu lightly chuckled.

When they got to a teacher lounge, Cementoss was currently holding the phone since Principal Nezu was getting Sakura. Upon seeing the pinkette, Cementoss handed the student the phone and left the room with Principal Nezu to give Sakura some privacy.

" Kid, you are one lucky brat." Tsunade accused. " Your amazing and gracious mentor, which is me, had just sent you the journal you've left back with me."

Sakura laughed at Tsunade's arrogant words as she recalled how back in Hosu City she left the journal filled with records of minor Quirks with the older woman. The pinkette would have brought it back with her the day she came back to Musutafu Japan, but she had asked Tsunade for a favor just before leaving.

" So I take it this package is the journal?" Sakura asked excitedly.

Tsunade shouted at someone is the background before going back to Sakura. " Sorry, Naruto had walked in. Anyway, it's a yes to your question. I got the concept of Karin's Quirk, it's call Sensor. But the other Quirk you had wanted is far more complicated."

" It's okay. You have like ten other Quirks written in this journal." Sakura replied.

" Who said I didn't get the information?" Tsunade snorted. " The little girl's Quirk is call Enchantment, allowing her to increase another's Quirk or stamina. The hard part is enchanting one's ability without physical contact, and because it's not your original Quirk, it'll be difficult."

Sakura sighed. " Should I just drop learning Enchantment? It would be a waste of time that I could be using to learn other abilities."

" If you drop it I swear I am going to kill you." Tsunade threatened. " I say go for it. Nothing's a waste of time when you've reached it in the end. Beside, Enchantment is a Quirk that's very powerful. When you master it, it'll come in handy in many situation."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something but closed it after hearing someone shouting on Tsunade's line. " Are you calling me during school hours? Lady Tsunade! You can't do that."

" Where's my thank you?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura smiled and closed her eyes. " Thank you Lady Tsunade! Now, remember not to drink while in school and say hi to Shizune for me. Bye!"

" Bye brat. And think over what I said about Enchantment." Tsunade bid before closing the call a few seconds later.

Sakura placed the phone on the coffee table as she walked out of the room. On the way, her eyes were cast down as she inwrapped the package. When she got to the core, the journal she had seen back in her internship looked the same as always The only difference being the extra frayed cover and back.

" Good job!" Principal Nezu's voice rang out through the intercom. " Team Midoriya and Bakugou pass! Can someone bring both the students to the nurse room as well? Thank you and good bye."

" Well that settles it, I'm learning Enchantment." Sakura said to herself with a smile.

Both Bakugou and Midoriya had just won against All Might, The Symbol Of Peace, and also known as The Number One Hero. The pinkette was going to have to step up her game if she wanted to keep on top of things.

Sakura changed her course of direction and made her way to the Recovery Girl's nurse office to check on Midoriya and Bakugou. And maybe also get inside information on how the match went from All Might. Or if Midoriya was awake, from him.

But the main reason Sakura wanted to go to the nurse office was to observe two of her main competitions if she wanted to become the next Number One hero. With the journal Tsunade had spent her time on working in her possession, Sakura could make no excuse to allow herself fall behind.

* * *

" Cherry Blossom Of The Spring, congrats on your win against Aizawa." All Might said when Sakura got there, patting the girl on the back before going into a coughing fit.

Sakura raised her eyebrows in concern. " Are you okay?"

" It's not him you should be asking." Recovery Girl huff. " Look at Midoriya and Bakugou! I was barely able to heal Midoriya's back! you should've gone easier on them All Might! You can't be this careless all the time! Oh, and Haruno dear, do you mind checking Midoriya and Bakugou for me?"

" Sure!" Sakura responded as she made her way over to the two boys. She reached Midoriya first and hovered her hands over the green haired boy's back.

The pinkette guided the flow of her Quirk into her hands as her eyes started to glow blue. Since her internship, her healing ability had improved greatly and she was now able to heal without getting tired in the end. When Sakura finished with Midoriya she moved on to Bakugou to which it only took a few minutes before she finished with him.

" Thank you Haruno." Recovery Girl said. " I'm glad to know there's a healer in the class, I don't have to worry so much."

Sakura laughed as Recover Girl gave All Might a pointed look. " But you know, I think the only way we know for sure we were fighting with all we had is by the state our body is in at the after match."

" That's correct!" All Might put in. " Some have learned their weaknesses, and others have regain confidence. But through it all, you guys fought!"

The pinkette left shortly after to change out of her hero costume and into her school uniform so she could head home. That day, as Sakura made her way back home, she looked up at the setting sun and laughed. Through the sweat and injuries, it was all worth it because the finals exam had finally come to an end.


	34. Series I: Thirty Four

The day after the final exams, Sakura walked into class to see that those who hadn't pass were all sulking as a group. The moment Ashido spotted Sakura, the girl latched onto the other pinkette and sniffled loudly.

" Sakura-chan! Remember to have fun during the training camp and come back to tell me about it, okay?" Ashido wailed. " Make good memories!"

" Don't be like that Mina." Sakura said. " Maybe there will be a last minute twist of event. Nothing has been absolutely decided yet so lets hang on to a little piece of hope."

However, Ashido only wailed louder and released Sakura from her grasp as she instead latched onto Kaminari since they were in the same boat. Ashido and along with those who hadn't passed all seemed to be really out of it. Sakura slowly went over to Midoriya, a nervous smile on her face.

" Congrats on your match against All Might." Sakura smiled, swinging an arm around Midoriya's neck. " Even though I didn't watch it to the end, I could tell you did great."

However, Before Midoriya could respond, Aizawa came into the room, causing everyone to immediately sit down in their respective seats. Once the pro was standing in front of the whole class, he lazily cleared his throat with a bored expression.

" Sadly, there were those who didn't pass the final exam..." Aizawa mumbled. "...But, everyone's going!"

Kirishima and Kaminari burst into cheers at those words while Sakura simply smile. From there, Aizawa started to review the results of the practical and when he closed it up by informing them none of them had failed the written exam.

" The summer training camp is meant to increase strength." Aizawa said. " That's why we're allowing those who had failed to go since that showed they need the training the most. Everyone of you need to get stronger."

" I was tricked again!" Iida mumbled, referring to the entrance exam. Suddenly the tall boy jumped up from his seat. " That's the second time we were lied to! Our trust in you shall waver!"

Aizawa sighed. " Yes, but it wasn't a complete lie. Failure is still failure. That's why all of those who had fail will be taking extra lessons in between. I'll warn you now that it'll be tougher then the extra lessons if it was to be taken at school instead. Now enough of this, lets get started on the lesson."

* * *

By the end of the day, Sakura and the rest of the class had regain the excitement from the morning. They were passed out Training Camp Guide booklet, and when Sakura took a look inside, she mentally noted to go shopping for the things she needed.

" Ah, since we'd be off from school tomorrow and we had finished our final exam, why don't Class A all go to the mall together?" Hagakure suggested.

" That's a great idea." Kaminari agreed with a grin. " Wouldn't it be the first time we as a class all hang out together?"

Asui shook her head before she turned to Sakura and the girls. " Actually, the girls from Class A had all hung out at -ribbit- the mall before sleeping over -ribbit- at Sakura-chan's I think it was somewhere -ribbit- right after the sports festival."

" What? And you guys didn't even invite us?" Mineta asked with a sort of hungry look. " I could've helped you out with picking out outfits and swimsuits!"

" Hey Bakugou, you're coming too, right?" Kirishima asked the blonde just as Bakugou was about to leave.

Bakugou didn't even spare the class a glance as he left with a snort. " Like I'd have time for something so irritating and time consuming."

Sakura frowned and chased after him. When she was out of the room, she reached out for the back of Bakugou's jacket and pinched it so that he couldn't walk any farther. When Bakugou look back to see who it was, she saw the smiling face of no other then Sakura Haruno.

" Come on Firecracker, please come! It'll be really fun!" Sakura promised.

Bakugou sighed. " Now you want to talk? You ran away the last time we were together, saying you had somewhere to go. How do I know you won't ditch me again?"

Sakura let go of Bakugou's jacket and flushed as she remember what she had said to the boy the other day. She stuttered over herself as she tried to explain herself without letting out why she really left abruptly. Finally, she was able to collect herself when she sucked in a deep breath.

" Fine, I have no excuse." Sakura concluded, closing her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes with a sort of embarrassed look. " But you know, you don't have to hang out with the others if you don't want to. Why not just the two of us go shopping?"

Bakugou was silent for a minute, and after awhile, he turned on his heels and waved at the pinkette as she continued to walk away. " See you tomorrow at the mall in the afternoon, but if you're over five minutes late, I'll be leaving."

" O-Okay!" Sakura called after him with a surprised look. When Bakugou disappeared after turning a corner, she went back into the classroom and grabbed her bag before running out once more and heading home.

All the awhile, her head was dizzy with roaring thoughts. Was it a date? Or was it just a get-together since Bakugou didn't like interactions? Or perhaps it was simply friends hanging out together. As those thoughts ran through Sakura mind, she didn't remember even having dinner and washing up. When the pinkette snapped out of her thoughts, her lights were close and she was already in bed.

" I'm screwed." Sakura whisper to herself with a sad note in her tone. " To him, I'm only a friend."

* * *

The next morning, Sakura woke up with a start, thinking she had slept passed the meet up time with Bakugou. but when she remembered that it wouldn't be until twelve, she slowly washed up and had breakfast.

When she went back into her room hours after reading, her eyes went over to the box with her welcome entrance to UA that also held the medal she had won during the sports festival. The pinkette had carved the words Emergency Spirit Lift Up on it a few weeks back.

" What am I going to wear?" Sakura wondered out loud, looking over her closet. When she couldn't decide, she plopped onto the ground and pulled her hair. " It's just a hangout, but why can't I decide on my clothes!"

Angry at herself for silently hoping it was a date, the pinkette threw on a black tank top before covering it with a cropped denim jacket and leaving it opened. She then hastily slipped into a dark blue denim skirt. She forced a smile in front of the mirror before bursting into mock tears.

" He's making me go crazy!" Sakura complained as she slowly got back up. She held up her hand to the mirror's surface and looked herself in the eye. " Come on Sakura, get yourself together!"

She made her way out to the living toward the door. She locked it after getting out and pocketed it in the messenger bag she had grabbed on her way out. Taking deep breaths, she made it to the mall right on time. However Bakugou was yet to be seen.

" He tells me to be on time, but where is he? Don't tell me I got stood up." Sakura mumbled. The pinkette clutched her bag's strap and frantically looked around for the familiar spiky hair that Bakugou always sported.

" What's wrong with you, Bubblegum?" Came Bakugou's voice behind Sakura not that far away.

Sakura turned around to see the boy, and when she did, her eyes widened at what she saw. Making his way over to her was Katsuki Bakugou with his phone out in one hand and his other stuffed in his slightly baggy pant's pocket.

" A-Ah, Firecracker." Sakura said in disbelief as she went over to him to get a closer look. " We're wearing similar outfits...?"

And true to the pinkette's words, they were. Bakugou raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Sakura before looking down at what he was wearing. He had on a simple denim jacket with it being unopened so his black shirt could be seen. And although Bakugou's jacket was a bit darker, when the two stood together, it gave off a couple's vibe.

" So?" Bakugou asked, shrugging his shoulders. " Quit your complaining and lets go inside."

Sakura resist telling him she wasn't complaining in fear that if she did, it would create an even clearer sign of her feelings toward him. Instead, the pinkette shook the idea of them looking like a couple out with much difficulty and tried focusing on finding the items they needed for their training camp.

" Lets get some bug spray." Sakura suggested, leaning over to Bakugou to see the booklet he had gotten from Aizawa. " And flashlights as well."

" Look! It's Sakura Haruno and Katsuki Bakugou from UA's sports festival!" A stranger pointed out, causing the two teens to look over to their direction.

Suddenly, both Sakura and Bakugou was the center of attention as more and more stranger looked their way. Nervously, the pinkette waved at those who were pointing at them. On the other hand, Bakugou narrowed his eyes at everyone.

" So? Stop looking at me you piece of shits!" Bakugou scowled. " The sports festival was a fucking fluke!"

Sakura sighed and pulled Bakugou away from the crowd. " Come on Firecracker, didn't you learn anything about interactions with citizens during your internship with Best Jeanist?"

" Don't remind me." Bakugou growled as he started to slouch, allowing Sakura to pull him into a store. " What do we need again?"

Sakura waved for him to sit down on one of the footrest as she went over to one of the shelves of bug spray. " Just sit down, and I'll look through some of the items. But in the next shop, you have to do the same for me, okay? Would you like scented or no scented bug spray?"

" Why the fuck does it matter?" Bakugou asked.

" Scented it is!" The pinkette declared, ignoring the blonde's words. " I'll get two for you and me. Hey, look over there! Firecracker, lets check out those caps!"

Bakugou got up from his seat and stuffed his hands in his pocket as he followed Sakura over to a different section. When he got to her, the pinkette was already debating on two hats, one in each hand. Suddenly, she held them up to the blonde.

" Which do you like better? Red with white or black with right?" Sakura asked to which Bakugou sighed and pointed at the black and white one. " Now we just need to decide with design looks better on it. Does roses and thorns on the side suit me?"

" I feel like you're enjoying this way too much." Bakugou smirked.

" Excuse me." A clerk said, coming over to them. " If you guys would like to see, we have a special set that just came in for couples. Just follow me if you want to see them."

Sakura held her hands out in front of her and waved in defense, her face slightly red. " A-Actually, Firecracker and I aren't couples. We're just here together to shop for some things for our training camp."

The clerk bowed at them multiple times as she apologized to the two teens. " I'm so sorry! I saw you two coming in and since you were dressed similarly I just through you guys were together! I'm so sorry for my assumption."

" Whatever, it doesn't matter." Bakugou said. " Just show us the set, we'll get match ones. We're not together, but we're friends. We shouldn't have to be a couple to get matching clothes or hats. Come on Bubblegum, you might find something you like. Watching you deciding on what to get it tiresome."

" Right, over here if you guys would." The clerk replied nervously, showing the way to the front. " You were looking at black and white caps so I'll take out those that have those color scheme for you to look at. I'll be over there if you need anything."

" Lets get these!" Sakura chirped, holding them out to Bakugou. " Look, they even have the roses and thorns that I like. So would you like the one that has more white than black or the one that has more black than white?"

" Just pick the one you like and I'll take the other." Bakugou said, looking away. " When you're done, lets head over to the shop next to this one."

" Fine, you can have the one that has more black since you asked so nicely." Sakura sang, raising her hand to get the clerk's attention. " Excuse me miss, we're ready to check out!"

Once the clerk was over and had scan both the two bug sprays and the caps, she looked up at the two teens with a smile. " That'll be $19.45. Would you guys also want a receipt?"

" Sure." Sakura answer as she took out her wallet. However, Bakugou pushed the hand she was holding her wallet back into her bag and instead paid for the items. When they were outside of the shop, the pinkette turned back to Bakugou with puffed cheeks. " I had that! I don't need anyone to pay for my things."

" You were going to pay for my things as well." Bakugou pointed out, causing Sakura to huff. " Beside, it's my gift to you for passing the final exam."

" That's a stupid excuse." Sakura commented, crossing her arms as she and Bakugou walked over to the store next to the one they were just at. " Anyway, what's the next thing on the list."

Bakugou pulled out the list and scanned it before replying to the pinkette's question. " Most of the things on the list are things we probably already have. Instead, lets get lunch. What do you want? There's a restaurant I know that sells great yakitori."

" Then lets have that. Why don't you get them and I'll head over to this cafe me and the girls went to and get us some macarons as a snack." Sakura suggested as she started to walk away. " I'll take our bags since the macarons won't be as heavy as the yakitori. We'll meet up at the center of the mall once we're done, okay?"

" Whatever, just don't get lost." Bakugou said as he started to walk away the opposite direction of where Sakura was heading to.

* * *

" I'm sure Firecracker should be done by now as well." Sakura mumbled to herself as she looked up at the clock. In one hand she had the small bag of items they had bought at the store and in the other she was holding the snacks.

The pinkette sat down on the bench and waited for the blonde boy to show up. Since the line at the cafe she was at wasn't that long, it only took Sakura ten minutes to get the macarons as well as get to the center of the mall to wait for Bakugou.

" Oh? What do we have here?" A familiar voice said, and Sakura suddenly felt someone's hand curl around her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. " It's none other then Sakura Haruno."

" Tomura Shigaraki." Sakura hissed under her breath.

Shigaraki was breathing on the pinkette's neck, and the way that the one finger that wasn't touching her was near her skin told Sakura that the villain was stalling. Suddenly, Shigaraki let out a raspy laugh. A laugh that caused Sakura's breathing to hitch and for her to freeze.

" Look at you. When we first met, you said you were going to change my thoughts on heroes, but here you are now, scared under my touch." The villain chuckled and the pinkette's eyes widened. " I already had a little chat with that Midoriya friend of yours so now's your turn. Why don't you join me?"

" I don't want to." Sakura said simply. " I want to continue to work on my Quirk so that I can protect the world from falling into the burning hands of evil."

Shigaraki let out a snarled, and although Sakura spoke brave words, she couldn't help but flinch. " You're starting to sound like those revolting heroes. Fine the, but I'll show you that the title hero is nothing more then just a fancy coat people wear to make themselves feel better."

" It's more then that." Sakura insisted, her carefulness of Shigaraki's hand around her throat vanishing. " It's a name that those who love and care take on because they want to protect others. All Might and along with Lady Tsunade are just starters of those type of people."

" And they'll be the first to fall as well." Shigaraki growl, his hands tightening around Sakura's throat. " Join me. I can give you power as well."

Sakura struggled to breath, and when she raised her hand to fend off Shigaraki, the villain only brought his last finger closer to her skin in warning. Just as she started to see black dots, a voice brought her back.

" The hell is going on?" Bakugou demanded to know. " Let go of her you fucker!"

" Firecracker, don't come any closer!" Sakura ordered. " If you do it'll be the end of me, you and the rest of the shoppers! J-just stay there, I'll find away to get out."

Shigaraki suddenly tightened the hold he had on the pinkette once more, causing her to gasp in sharply and fight for air. " Even now, you're still thinking of others. You're about to die, and you tell your rescuer to back off in order to protect the citizens? You sicken me."

" Fuck you Bubblegum!" Bakugou shouted as he got ready to attack Shigaraki. " If you die by this scumbag I'll drag you back to the living and kill you myself after I take care of him."

Suddenly, Shigaraki released his hands from Sakura's neck. " I have better things to do. Against two students from UA, it's best to retreat for now. See you soon, Sakura Haruno."

The pinkette felt her throat and gasped for air, eyes trailing after the villain's retreating from. Bakugou ran over to her, glaring at her trembling body and the way her eyes were slightly watery. He loomed over her sitting from, casting a shadow.

" Are you crazy Bubblgeum?" Bakugou hissed. " You could've died! You told me to step back!"

" The people around us could've been in danger." Sakura pointed out. " Beside, even if I did died, I knew that you would be able to take care of Shigaraki and protect the citizens. Not to mention that our classmates are also somewhere around here."

" Damn it!" Bakugou curse. " Get your things, we're reporting this right now. And eat your food as well, it's getting cold."

" It's okay, I'm not so hungry anymore." Sakura replied with a smile. " Lets just report this so the Heroes and police can make sure Shigaraki isn't lurking around here anymore."

Suddenly, just as they saw a police on duty, the intercom turned on. " Everyone in the mall, due to a villain encounter, we ask you to leave the mall and head back right this moment. I repeat, evacuate the mall. If you come upon anyone suspicious, inform the heroes on watch or a police."

" Hey!" Bakugou called at the police nearest by. " Bubblegum here was just being held by her damn throat by someone called Tomura Shigaraki."

" Right, I need her to follow me to be taken to the police station. Miss, do you know a Izuku Midoriya by any chance?" The man asked the pinkette. " He had been reported to encounter the same man this young man spoke of."

" Deku? Is he okay?" Sakura asked, eyes widening. " Please tell me he is."

The policeman nodded his head as he gestured for Sakura to follow him. " Yes, he's fine. And since you know each other, you'll both be interviewed together. Young man, it's best if you leave now. Don't worry, she'll be fine.

" Here Firecracker, take these bags. Just give me the hat and bug spray when we're at the training camp. I won't be needing them until then anyway." Sakura said, handing the said bag over to the blonde. " I'll call you when I get back."

" Whatever. Take care Bubblegum." Bakugou muttered back at the pinkette.

Even after Sakura and the policeman started to walk away, Bakugou kept his eyes on the girl's back. He glared when Sakura shifted her waist length hair to one side to sooth her throat, exposing her red neck and the finger marks. For some reason, he wanted nothing then to bash Shigaraki's head into a wall and tear him to pieces.

* * *

" I remember you telling us that you've met Shigaraki before the USJ incident took place." Tsukauchi revised. " Did he tell you anything new or brought up anything important?"

Sakura frowned as she tried to remember the conversation she had with the villain. " He asked me to join him and his organization."

" Ah, that's bad. Call me if you see anything new in your life style or if someone is lurking close by where ever you go. Here's my number." Tsukauchi said, handing the girl his card. " Well then, other then that, we're done. Thank you, Haruno, Midoriya. Let me walk you two out."

" Are you okay, Sakura?" Midoriya asked the pinkette.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. " Could be better, but I'm okay. I didn't really get hurt."

" Young Haruno! Young Midoriya! Tsukauchi!" All Might's voice called after them. When the three turned to where the voice was coming from, they saw All Might in his skinny form walking over to them. " I'm sorry I wasn't there for you two."

" It's okay. Firecracker was there with me." Sakura said as the pro hero ruffled her hair.

" All Might? Do you also have times where you can't save everybody?" Midoriya suddenly asked, causing All Might to stay silent for sometime before answering.

All Might smiled grimly. " Yes I do. For example, someone could be passing out or killed somewhere in the world and I don't even know. It's frustrating, but I'm also human too, that's why I can't save those I can't reach. That's all the more reason to stand and smile."

" Izuku!" A teary voice suddenly called. " I-I can't take this anymore. My heart can't take this anymore."

Sakura turned around to see a woman with dark green eyes and hair running toward Midoriya with tears streaming down her cheeks. The pinkette felt a pang as Midoriya was pulled into a hug by the new comer.

" Sakura, meet by mother." Midoriya introduced when he was let go by his mom. " I'm okay now mom. The police and heroes took care of me."

As Midoriya left with his mother with another policeman, Sakura was left standing with All Might and Tsukauchi in the cold night air. Suddenly, All Might placed a hand on the pinkette's shoulders, bringing her our of her thoughts.

" Come on Cherry Blossom Of The Spring, I'll take you home." All Might offered.

Sakura nodded and walked forward, All Might's hand falling off her shoulders as she did so. Without turning back to face the two adults, the pinkette brushed away a falling tear drop, causing All Might to reach for her once more.

" Don't." Sakura said. " I need to be strong. All Might, Shigaraki reminded me what I said to him during our first encounter that even I forgot about. He reminded me that I had promised to become a hero even he would like. Damn it, why am I crying?!

" Cherry Blossom Of The Spring?" All Might asked worriedly.

With a breeze weaving though her hair, the pinkette turned back to face both All Might and Tsukauchi, a tear slipping down her cheek. " Why does it sound like he wants to be save? You said that you can't save those you can't reach. I think I've found my purpose as a hero in training. I'll take the extra step so I can reach those who are even in darkness. Villains who are in need of saving, I'll be their hero as well."

With that said, Sakura turned around and started to make her way back home with All Might watching her from behind. And as for Tsukauchi, he didn't know why he was also following the pinkette back home.

" She's the first person I know of to believe even villains need saving from their own evil deeds." The detective told All Might to which the pro nodded.

All Might could only stare at the pinkette's back, and when he saw that she was healing the forming bruises around her neck, he smiled. " She'll pick herself back up as many times as she need to after falling over countless time. Perhaps she'll be the one to protect the world from falling instead of me."

That day, All Might placed not just his faith but also his dream for peace in the world in the hands of a fifteen year old girl name Sakura Haruno even if the said girl didn't know it herself. A girl who had just discover a new purpose for the title hero.


	35. - SEASON I END -

AND HERE WE ARE, AT THE END OF THE SAKURA HARUNO CHRONICLES OF SEASON ONE. I'M PROUD TO SAY THE FIRST PART OF MY PROJECT IS DONE AND WOULD LIKET O INTRODUCE THE SECOND: THE SAKURA HARUNO CHRONICLES II

I now want to take a moment to thank my reviewers:

darksakurashadow (My first reviewer! Thank You!)

Velta12

Uchihax11

Alexandra281

Suzululu4moe

ConstanzaReyesG

fantastic

James Birdsong

KukkiChi

Cyanidespiderbites

Sofiauchiha111

Yuuki-Hime 2097

Fairylover4679635

sasshi samy

D3lph0xL0v3r ( You reviewed on all of my chapters! Thank you!)

gothiccross017

sofiauchiha93

bisexualwhale

MillerMoonsPrincess

KellytheKid

ZuRIEnAj05

sbfumayam

hyaenahyaena12

mikansakuraangel

HanaKusoki

celestial. spirit.3000

MarchIII

\- Author


End file.
